Consolidated Capital Management LLC Buys 5,152 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Consolidated Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 57.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,152 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up 2.4% of Consolidated Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Consolidated Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3,949.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,494,568,000 after acquiring an additional 5,098,964 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 573.1% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,504,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $861,947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,087 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,375,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,176,870,000 after acquiring an additional 464,036 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,572,681,000 after acquiring an additional 442,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $252,204,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Williams Trading set a $825.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $923.14.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $872.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $401.91 billion, a PE ratio of 43.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.63. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $811.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $702.31. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $339.50 and a one year high of $931.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. The business had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 5,642 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $883.03, for a total transaction of $4,982,055.26. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,789.82. This trade represents a 37.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total transaction of $11,444,205.55. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,236,615.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 98,273 shares of company stock valued at $89,439,960. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.