Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Bank raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $339.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $162.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s fifty day moving average is $368.73 and its 200-day moving average is $372.72. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

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.