Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,012 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,012 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 0.6% of Vermillion Wealth Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,980,629,000 after acquiring an additional 284,366 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 236,315 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $2,184,364,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $375.33.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE:CAT traded up $7.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $351.36. 2,238,603 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,636,514. The company has a fifty day moving average of $318.65 and a 200 day moving average of $351.78. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $165.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

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.