Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Has $3.10 Million Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up about 0.8% of Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 9,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,746,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,496,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 11,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,292,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $345,000. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 24,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,151,000 after buying an additional 1,419 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $316.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $4.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $347.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 467,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,470,852. The stock has a market cap of $173.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $205.60 and a one year high of $382.01. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $350.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $301.19.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

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.