Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Buys 45 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldstone Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at about $619,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 165,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $64,553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,922 shares during the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 88.6% in the third quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $908,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth approximately $235,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.0 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $342.37 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $367.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $373.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $163.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.