Freedom Investment Management Inc. Acquires 401 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after buying an additional 284,366 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,790,841,000 after acquiring an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,294,505,000 after acquiring an additional 129,143 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,184,364,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,193,154,000 after purchasing an additional 61,723 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.3 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $293.82 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $327.08 and its 200 day moving average is $363.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $361.64.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.