Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Knuff & Co LLC

Knuff & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up about 2.3% of Knuff & Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,310,000 after buying an additional 3,558 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 367,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,370,000 after buying an additional 52,576 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded up $1.31 on Friday, hitting $336.75. 1,977,087 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,750,444. The company has a 50 day moving average of $351.89 and a 200-day moving average of $303.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.60 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.