Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 75 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after purchasing an additional 67,148 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,262,290,000 after purchasing an additional 8,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $363.84 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $175.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $376.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $371.29.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.13.

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.