Avion Wealth Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Avion Wealth boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 70.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the quarter. Avion Wealth’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 36,168.5% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,361,000 after buying an additional 226,415 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after acquiring an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 34.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,908,000 after acquiring an additional 200,210 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.13.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $362.61 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $175.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $375.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $371.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $307.05 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

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.