Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Certuity LLC

Certuity LLC grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 105.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,211 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,900,847,000 after purchasing an additional 111,384 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after acquiring an additional 47,258 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 14.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,648,431,000 after acquiring an additional 781,111 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 28,603.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,417,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.4% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $382,168,000 after acquiring an additional 71,344 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $15.08 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $334.72. 2,179,615 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,488,522. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $350.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $301.75. The company has a market cap of $167.16 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.60 and a 12-month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.44 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,769 shares of company stock worth $11,508,906 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. HSBC raised their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.35.

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.