Bailard Inc. Purchases 5,355 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Bailard Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,355 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the second quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 9,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 9.8% during the second quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, GSB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the second quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,457,335.17. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar 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 sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 69,662 shares of company stock worth $33,575,140. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of CAT stock opened at $567.82 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $596.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $497.84 and a 200-day moving average of $423.30. The company has a market capitalization of $265.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $405.00 to $660.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $596.59.

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.