Strategic Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Strategic Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,994 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 384 shares during the quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after acquiring an additional 129,216 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,139,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,406,471,000 after purchasing an additional 173,108 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,582,000 after purchasing an additional 75,973 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Caterpillar by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,069,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,022,488,000 after buying an additional 165,358 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,108,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $702,431,000 after buying an additional 198,123 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $347.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Thursday, reaching $396.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 631,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,649,586. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $354.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $348.77. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $401.17. The company has a market cap of $193.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar 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.