Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Ameritas Advisory Services LLC

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,189 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $365.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $380.60.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $5.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $386.03. 2,596,820 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,595,788. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $277.66 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock's fifty day moving average is $380.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $367.03.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.