Gradient Investments LLC Has $424,000 Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Gradient Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 174 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after acquiring an additional 249,155 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased 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 worth $3,501,554,000 after acquiring an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in Caterpillar by 34.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 106.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 317,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,309,000 after purchasing an additional 163,725 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $407.95 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $293.13 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $196.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $381.07 and a 200-day moving average of $369.19.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued 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). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

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.