Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. Takes Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $394,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,572,681,000 after acquiring an additional 442,164 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,072,572,000 after acquiring an additional 94,524 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,438,408,000 after acquiring an additional 54,069 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Caterpillar by 3,949.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,494,568,000 after acquiring an additional 5,098,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Caterpillar by 2.2% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,802,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,337,007,000 after acquiring an additional 58,993 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total transaction of $11,444,205.55. Following the transaction, the insider owned 49,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,236,615.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at $42,210,388.80. The trade was a 26.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 98,273 shares of company stock worth $89,439,960. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of CAT opened at $887.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $408.56 billion, a PE ratio of 44.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $807.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $701.11. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $339.50 and a fifty-two week high of $931.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $940.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $923.14.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off?highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.