Wright Investors Service Inc. Raises Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 22.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,553 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises about 1.2% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $2,580,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Caterpillar by 17.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,634,000 after purchasing an additional 9,695 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $405,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Caterpillar by 6.8% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 4.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,075,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded up $4.85 during trading on Thursday, reaching $363.17. The stock had a trading volume of 612,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,410,437. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $204.04 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $345.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $296.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released 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. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.82%.

Caterpillar 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.