Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) is S&CO Inc.'s 9th Largest Position

S&CO Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,744 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,940 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up about 3.0% of S&CO Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. S&CO Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $45,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after buying an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 306.9% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $149,385,000 after acquiring an additional 307,479 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $91,606,000 after purchasing an additional 266,969 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $97,042,000. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 99.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $179,060,000 after purchasing an additional 244,253 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $3.29 on Friday, hitting $384.07. The company had a trading volume of 2,165,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,355,409. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $185.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $241.81 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $381.86 and a 200 day moving average of $354.20.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. This represents a 16.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.