Chase Investment Counsel Corp Makes New $270,000 Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 914 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

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

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the 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 owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $316.88.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $349.76 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $350.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $301.75. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $174.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $205.60 and a one year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

About Caterpillar

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.