Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after buying an additional 67,148 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after acquiring an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,262,290,000 after buying an additional 8,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective 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. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.13.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $363.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $376.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $371.73.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

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.