B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management Acquires 141 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 141 shares during the quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.4 %

CAT opened at $386.03 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $277.66 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $380.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $366.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on CAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.60.

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.