Wright Investors Service Inc. Has $4.18 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for 1.2% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 272.4% during the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 730.8% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $4.85 during trading on Thursday, hitting $363.17. 612,799 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,410,437. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $345.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $296.78. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $204.04 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.86 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.56.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $3,000,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.