Proficio Capital Partners LLC Has $291.94 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 50,072.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 803,166 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $291,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 334.8% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $342.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $163.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $366.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.88.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.