MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $47.51 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $47,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $230,000. Cadinha & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $11,084,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,414,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the period. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $800,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $1.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $305.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,199,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,636,279. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $322.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $361.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $146.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $359.36.

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.