Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Searle & CO.

Searle & CO. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises about 1.7% of Searle & CO.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Searle & CO.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 28,603.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,417,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488,813 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,265.3% in the 3rd quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,117,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,168,000 after buying an additional 1,070,570 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,648,431,000 after buying an additional 781,111 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5,293.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 482,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $142,620,000 after buying an additional 473,416 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $101,872,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded down $3.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $331.07. The company had a trading volume of 3,514,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,525,834. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $351.08 and a 200-day moving average of $302.22. The company has a market capitalization of $165.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.60 and a 12-month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.