Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Forte Capital LLC ADV

Forte Capital LLC ADV raised its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 19.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. AJOVista LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $190,000. Provence Wealth Management Group lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 2,276 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 21,157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,255,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $3,755,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:CAT traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $336.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,977,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,750,444. The company has a market cap of $164.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $351.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.11. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.60 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.