The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 427,820 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,363 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.09% of Caterpillar worth $155,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after acquiring an additional 284,366 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th 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 increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $3,294,505,000 after purchasing an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $2,184,364,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,193,154,000 after purchasing an additional 61,723 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT traded up $9.78 on Friday, hitting $323.74. The stock had a trading volume of 3,764,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,628,403. The company has a market capitalization of $154.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $318.55 and a 200-day moving average of $358.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $366.00.

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.