New Hampshire Trust Buys 245 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

New Hampshire Trust increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. New Hampshire Trust’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,606,000 after purchasing an additional 266,969 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $305,908,000 after buying an additional 200,210 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.4 %

CAT opened at $386.03 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $277.66 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $380.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $367.29.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.