Independent Advisor Alliance Has $17.98 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 49,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,193 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $17,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC increased 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 worth $533,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,586,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on CAT shares. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.9 %

CAT stock opened at $350.97 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $363.11 and a 200 day moving average of $372.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar 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.