Wellington Management Group LLP Acquires 37,282 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 72.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,936 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,282 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $32,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 284,366 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $3,790,841,000 after buying an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after buying an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in 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 buying an additional 724,477 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $2,184,364,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $396.00 price objective (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.92.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE CAT traded up $0.57 on Wednesday, hitting $349.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 465,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,604,145. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $319.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $350.36. The firm has a market cap of $164.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% 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.