Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,241 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $689,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721,693 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 1,196,861 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1,278.6% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 440,641 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $154,367,000 after acquiring an additional 408,678 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $406.47.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $8.25 on Wednesday, reaching $412.89. 3,240,946 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,519,851. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $364.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $348.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

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.