United Asset Strategies Inc. Has $822,000 Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. First American Trust FSB increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 30,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,072,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 6,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,884,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Legacy CG LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $4,380,000. Keel Point LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 2,526 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $906,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.56.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of CAT opened at $359.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $179.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $344.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $296.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.86 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.82%.

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.