Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 292,453 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,137 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned about 0.06% of Caterpillar worth $106,090,000 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. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,084,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,414,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $800,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 4.6 %

NYSE CAT traded down $13.80 during trading on Thursday, reaching $287.21. 1,754,735 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,612,587. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $336.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $368.44. The stock has a market cap of $137.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $373.20.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.