Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Cullen Investment Group LTD.

Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,763 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 53 shares during the quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust raised its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.4 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $362.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $381.88 and a 200-day moving average of $365.94. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $276.94 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $175.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Citigroup upped their target price on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.33.

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.