Panagora Asset Management Inc. Buys 52,576 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 367,655 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 52,576 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.07% of Caterpillar worth $100,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 130,632.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,784,017 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,343,859,000 after purchasing an additional 9,776,533 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,532,245 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,339,234,000 after purchasing an additional 156,608 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in Caterpillar by 98,763.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 8,679,209 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,135,519,000 after purchasing an additional 8,670,430 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,725,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,900,922,000 after purchasing an additional 202,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in Caterpillar by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,608,165 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,583,053,000 after purchasing an additional 969,222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $1.65 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $290.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,955,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,382,778. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $204.04 and a 12 month high of $299.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $267.86 and a 200 day moving average of $266.92. The company has a market capitalization of $147.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $5.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $16.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.57 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.29% and a net margin of 13.69%. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.95 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 20th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $323.00 to $297.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $269.79.

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 the United States and internationally. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track and multi-terrain, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.

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