Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Purchases 14,338 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 166,724 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,338 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $60,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $397.57. The stock had a trading volume of 761,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,038,013. The company has a market capitalization of $191.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $287.52 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company's 50-day moving average is $379.99 and its 200 day moving average is $368.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Caterpillar's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value 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 approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $365.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $380.60.

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.