Main Street Research LLC Boosts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Main Street Research LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises approximately 2.0% of Main Street Research LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $25,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 130,632.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,784,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,343,859,000 after purchasing an additional 9,776,533 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,175,255,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $433,134,000. Imprint Wealth LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 24,982.9% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,538,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $153,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531,952 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 28,603.5% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 1,488,813 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT traded down $3.28 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $360.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,104,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,417,092. The firm has a market cap of $180.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $204.04 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $343.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.86 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.33 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 given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.82%.

Caterpillar 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.