Woodline Partners LP Takes Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 28,994 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $10,518,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 236,315 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $3,294,505,000 after acquiring an additional 129,143 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $2,184,364,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $375.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $1.51 on Wednesday, reaching $350.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 415,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,627,818. The company has a market capitalization of $164.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $318.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $351.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid 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 currently 27.49%.

Caterpillar Company 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.