Western Financial Corp CA Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Western Financial Corp CA raised its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,194 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the quarter. Western Financial Corp CA’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after acquiring an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 34.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after acquiring an additional 200,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Caterpillar by 106.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 317,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,309,000 after purchasing an additional 163,725 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $371.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $381.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $370.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $299.93 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 1.52%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.13.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were 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 directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,900 shares of company stock worth $13,111,601 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.