Johnson Financial Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 29.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,764 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 179,908 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 worth $1,900,847,000 after buying an additional 111,384 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,864,823,000 after buying an additional 47,258 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 14.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,648,431,000 after buying an additional 781,111 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $1,660,560,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup upped their target price on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC upped their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $1.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $348.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,633,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,475,004. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $356.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $313.62. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.60 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The firm has a market cap of $170.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.83, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.19.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

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.