Rothschild Investment LLC Acquires 979 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36,168.5% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,361,000 after buying an additional 226,415 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 34.4% during 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 buying an additional 200,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at about $54,997,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $339.84 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $368.73 and a 200-day moving average of $372.72. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

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.