Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC raised its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% during the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $348.84 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $307.05 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $370.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $372.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CAT. DA Davidson raised their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.