Disciplined Equity Management Inc. Increases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Disciplined Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 280 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for about 0.6% of Disciplined Equity Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Disciplined Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Trivium Point Advisory LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 132.9% during the 2nd quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 9.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,037,000 after purchasing an additional 7,125 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 11.2% during the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 14,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth approximately $427,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,089,798,000 after buying an additional 15,347 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,457,335.17. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $528.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $446.55 and a 200 day moving average of $386.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $247.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $531.56.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $447.00 to $502.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.47.

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.