Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 6,369 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 437,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,369 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Caterpillar worth $129,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,408,481,000 after acquiring an additional 179,908 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,900,847,000 after purchasing an additional 111,384 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,864,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 781,111 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 28,603.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,417,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488,813 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of CAT traded up $3.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $334.18. 916,294 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,506,551. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.60 and a 52 week high of $382.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $351.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $302.43. The company has a market capitalization of $163.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders 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 1.56%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. 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 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.35.

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.