InterOcean Capital Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

InterOcean Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 30.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 208,599 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,203 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for 1.7% of InterOcean Capital Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. InterOcean Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $61,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,481,000 after buying an additional 179,908 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,900,847,000 after buying an additional 111,384 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,864,823,000 after buying an additional 47,258 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,648,431,000 after buying an additional 781,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,660,560,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $3.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $359.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,840,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,474,364. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.60 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market cap of $175.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $356.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $312.22.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

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.