Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Purchases 473,416 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 5,293.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 482,360 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 473,416 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned approximately 0.09% of Caterpillar worth $142,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 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, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following 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. Insiders have sold a total of 35,769 shares of company stock worth $11,508,906 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock traded down $25.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $338.24. 6,457,682 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,486,411. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.92 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.04 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $349.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CAT. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and increased their price target for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.56.

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.

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