Vision Capital Management Inc. Purchases 50 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Vision Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,020 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 98,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,634,000 after acquiring an additional 5,584 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.0% during the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $689,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 22,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,684,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.7% during the third quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 13,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,225,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co of Kansas raised its stake in Caterpillar by 65.5% during the third quarter. Trust Co of Kansas now owns 1,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $379.50.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $359.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $379.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $371.31. The stock has a market cap of $173.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.