Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Purchases 7,803 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 92.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 7,803 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Channel Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $342.37 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $367.25 and its 200-day moving average is $373.10. The firm has a market cap of $163.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

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.