Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC Buys New Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,212 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $926,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 278,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,688,000 after acquiring an additional 9,321 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 13,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,475,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $5.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $402.02. The stock had a trading volume of 2,110,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,650,572. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $196.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $357.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $349.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $403.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.55 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $347.56.

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.