National Pension Service Has $267.23 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

National Pension Service boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 903,806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,516 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $267,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Everpar Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $681,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $247,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. HSBC boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.35.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $6.80 on Thursday, reaching $351.30. 898,161 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,481,730. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.60 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $352.87 and a 200-day moving average of $305.22. The company has a market capitalization of $171.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 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.