Advisor OS LLC Boosts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Advisor OS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $342.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $367.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $373.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $163.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

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.