Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $353.23 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 973,730 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $353,231,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.20% of Caterpillar as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. First Business Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,099.0% in the fourth quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 14,667 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 10,351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,755,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,603 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,846,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131 shares in the last quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 2,321 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

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Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $9.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $350.97. 3,061,142 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,503,377. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $363.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $372.77. The stock has a market cap of $167.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.