Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Holdings Lifted by Montag A & Associates Inc.

Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 939 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Wrapmanager Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $632,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $275,000. US Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $1,114,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 10,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $7.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $351.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,182,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,508,150. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.60 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $353.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.54.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on CAT shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.35.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 approximately $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar 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.