Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Acquires Shares of 604 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 67.5% in the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 1,263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,636,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $353,231,000. First Business Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2,099.0% in the 4th quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 14,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,321,000 after buying an additional 14,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 10,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,755,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.9 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $350.97 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $363.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $372.98. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $167.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CAT. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

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.