Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Has $3.47 Million Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 26.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,557 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,014 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. M&G PLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.8% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 42,988 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,808,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.8% during the third quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 1,744 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $282,000. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 18.6% during the third quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 976 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $285,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $383.80.

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 value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.9 %

CAT stock traded up $9.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $350.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,061,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,503,377. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $167.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $363.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $372.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 25.56%.

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.