Scotia Capital Inc. Raises Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,563 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $27,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Phoenix Financial Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 2,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $980,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 39,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,205,000 after acquiring an additional 7,595 shares in the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 3,664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1,278.6% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 440,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $154,367,000 after acquiring an additional 408,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,715,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $373.20.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $301.43 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $144.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $336.81 and a 200-day moving average of $368.44. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

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.