Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 19.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,566 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after purchasing an additional 67,148 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after buying an additional 64,452 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,262,290,000 after buying an additional 8,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after buying an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $407.95 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $381.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $369.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $293.13 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

About Caterpillar

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.