Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,067,000. Caterpillar makes up approximately 1.0% of Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 28,603.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,417,360,000 after buying an additional 1,488,813 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2,265.3% in the 3rd quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,117,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,570 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,648,431,000 after purchasing an additional 781,111 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,875,000 after purchasing an additional 529,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in Caterpillar by 5,293.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 482,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $142,620,000 after buying an additional 473,416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their price target for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.35.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.1 %

CAT stock traded down $0.50 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $344.50. 2,250,967 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,500,179. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.60 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $352.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $304.94.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% 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.