Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,636 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,137 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $35,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 50,072.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $291,938,000 after buying an additional 803,166 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 226,415 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $9.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $350.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,061,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,503,377. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $167.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $363.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $372.77.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.