Abbrea Capital LLC Raises Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Abbrea Capital LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 565 shares during the quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,769 shares of company stock worth $11,508,906. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $5.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $343.38. 3,293,618 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,496,415. The business has a fifty day moving average of $349.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $300.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $171.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $204.04 and a 1 year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. As a group, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.82%.

About Caterpillar

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.