Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Purchases New Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $285,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 1,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $721,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 16,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,560,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,300,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $350.97 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $363.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $372.98. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.