HTLF Bank Buys Shares of 1,446 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

HTLF Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 272.4% in the 1st quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 730.8% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $354.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.04 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $346.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $297.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.86 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. 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 1.47%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CAT. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and raised their price target for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.56.

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.