Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 360,223 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 70.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 873,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 360,223 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $500,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 220.0% during the fourth quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 140.0% during the 4th quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC now owns 60 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $940.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,103.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Argus increased their price target on Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Caterpillar from $860.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $933.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total transaction of $14,399,860.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,631,913.85. The trade was a 22.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total value of $14,928,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,210,388.80. The trade was a 26.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of CAT stock opened at $915.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $421.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.56, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.59. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $353.92 and a 1 year high of $946.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $836.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $718.16.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The company had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.25 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.06%.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off?highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.