Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Sells 109 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 109 shares during the quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,481,000 after buying an additional 179,908 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,900,847,000 after purchasing an additional 111,384 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,864,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,648,431,000 after purchasing an additional 781,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,875,000 after buying an additional 529,420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded up $7.28 on Thursday, hitting $351.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,182,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,508,150. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.60 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $353.23 and its 200-day moving average is $305.54. The company has a market capitalization of $172.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on CAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

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.