Seascape Capital Management Acquires New Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Seascape Capital Management acquired 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 fund acquired 13,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,945,000. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 1.7% of Seascape Capital Management's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $2,343,859,000 after purchasing an additional 9,776,533 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,175,255,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $433,134,000. Imprint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 24,982.9% in the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,538,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $153,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531,952 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 28,603.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,417,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488,813 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.8 %

Caterpillar stock traded down $6.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $365.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,072,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,439,701. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.04 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $342.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.79.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.86 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.33 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.82%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $297.89.

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.

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