Fayez Sarofim & Co Purchases 4,697 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,499 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 4,697 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $21,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CAT. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $359.36.

Caterpillar Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of CAT traded up $11.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $306.89. The company had a trading volume of 2,873,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,641,834. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $323.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $361.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $146.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

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.