Corundum Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Corundum Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 70.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,592 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,314 shares during the period. Corundum Group Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust grew its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $380.60.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $5.48 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $386.03. 2,596,820 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,595,788. The company has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $277.66 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $380.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $367.29.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

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.