Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Position Trimmed by Marco Investment Management LLC

Marco Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 535 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises approximately 2.2% of Marco Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $21,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 24,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419 shares in the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 7,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,090,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 60,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,863,000 after acquiring an additional 3,114 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,186,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebrook Private Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $554,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.83.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $5.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $343.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,324,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,414,735. The company has a 50-day moving average of $350.10 and a 200-day moving average of $300.99. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $204.04 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $171.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.48%.

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.