AXS Investments LLC Grows Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

AXS Investments LLC grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 13.0% 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 7,264 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the quarter. AXS Investments LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,408,481,000 after acquiring an additional 179,908 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,900,847,000 after buying an additional 111,384 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,648,431,000 after buying an additional 781,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,660,560,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock traded down $5.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $350.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,701,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,466,534. The stock has a market cap of $171.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $356.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $313.36. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.60 and a fifty-two 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.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on CAT. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

About Caterpillar

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.