Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Takes $701,000 Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 1,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $701,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 130.0% during the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. 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 purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought 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 in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $390.29 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $297.45 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $381.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $370.23. The company has a market capitalization of $188.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.60.

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.