Swan Global Investments LLC Acquires 149 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Swan Global Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 24.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Swan Global Investments LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 32.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,730,000 after acquiring an additional 2,745 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $755,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.1% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,122 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on CAT. Citigroup increased their price target on Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Erste Group Bank raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.60.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of CAT stock opened at $527.41 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $544.99. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $453.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $391.52. The company has a market cap of $247.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.99 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

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.