Fisher Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 129,143 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up approximately 1.3% of Fisher Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,294,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in Caterpillar by 334.8% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised shares of 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $343.90 on Friday. 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 $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $365.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $372.71.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

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.