Trexquant Investment LP Has $4.76 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Trexquant Investment LP trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 40.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,119 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,016 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,184,364,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 50,072.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $291,938,000 after purchasing an additional 803,166 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Caterpillar by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $782,109,000 after purchasing an additional 318,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CAT. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $373.20.

Caterpillar Stock Down 6.0 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $18.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $282.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,110,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,609,964. The firm's fifty day moving average is $336.81 and its 200-day moving average is $368.44. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $135.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.56%.

About Caterpillar

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.