Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Purchased by Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 72.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 907 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2,723.1% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $466,430,000 after buying an additional 1,364,183 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth $391,788,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 546.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,297,000 after acquiring an additional 712,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,064,951,000 after buying an additional 268,300 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $517.00 to $594.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $518.19.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

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

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $522.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $244.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $544.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $464.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $398.36.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.99 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.72%.

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.