Vivid Wealth Management LLC Raises Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Vivid Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for about 1.2% of Vivid Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Vivid Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 36,168.5% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,361,000 after buying an additional 226,415 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 34.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,908,000 after buying an additional 200,210 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $353.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $373.30 and a 200 day moving average of $371.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $307.05 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.13.

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.