Guardian Investment Management Has $1.56 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Guardian Investment Management reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for about 1.3% of Guardian Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 130,632.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,784,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,343,859,000 after buying an additional 9,776,533 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $1,175,255,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $433,134,000. Imprint Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 24,982.9% during the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,538,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $153,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 28,603.5% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 1,488,813 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $357.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,209,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,418,054. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $345.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.78. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $204.04 and a one year high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.86 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.