Colonial Trust Co SC Acquires 1,334 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 41.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,570 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,334 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $2,184,364,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,060,730,000 after buying an additional 1,196,861 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 50,072.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $291,938,000 after purchasing an additional 803,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $321.35 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $317.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $356.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $370.67.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently 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.

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