Zacks Investment Management reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 416,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 32,752 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises 1.4% of Zacks Investment Management's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Zacks Investment Management owned 0.09% of Caterpillar worth $151,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after buying an additional 236,315 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,184,364,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 61,723 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $361.64.
Read Our Latest Research Report on CAT
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Caterpillar Trading Up 1.3 %
Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $3.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $293.82. 2,716,340 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,637,934. The business's 50-day moving average price is $327.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $363.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. 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 (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.
Caterpillar Announces Dividend
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 paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 25.56%.
About Caterpillar
(
Free Report)
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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