Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Sells 385 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 385 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 28,603.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,417,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488,813 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,265.3% in the 3rd quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,117,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,570 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,648,431,000 after purchasing an additional 781,111 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $947,875,000 after buying an additional 529,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5,293.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 482,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $142,620,000 after buying an additional 473,416 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, HSBC upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $2.90 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $345.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,943,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,503,008. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.60 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $352.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $304.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

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.