Fisher Funds Management LTD Acquires New Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,023 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldstone Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $619,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,347,000 after acquiring an additional 4,632 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 6,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 5,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust increased its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of 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 sold a total of 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $339.84 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $368.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $372.72. The stock has a market cap of $162.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 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.