Empirical Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 455.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,624 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,251 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted 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 valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $365.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Three equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $380.60.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded up $5.48 on Friday, hitting $386.03. 2,596,820 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,595,788. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $277.66 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The business's fifty day moving average is $380.09 and its 200 day moving average is $366.76.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. 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 is presently 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.