Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $8.17 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,526 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $5.96 on Thursday, hitting $380.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,972,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,003,177. The company has a market capitalization of $183.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $276.94 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $380.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $366.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

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.