Driehaus Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 202 shares during the quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 8,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,027,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 10,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,933,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 1,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 104,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,974,000 after purchasing an additional 5,903 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $325.47 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $316.76 and its 200 day moving average is $355.18. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $153.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $370.67.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Caterpillar

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.