CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Lowers Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 287,489 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 23,665 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.06% of Caterpillar worth $104,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,790,841,000 after buying an additional 236,315 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,294,505,000 after acquiring an additional 129,143 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $2,184,364,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,193,154,000 after purchasing an additional 61,723 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $9.44 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $283.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,165,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,632,236. The stock has a market cap of $135.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $363.58.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $359.36.

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.