Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by BSW Wealth Partners

BSW Wealth Partners raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 17.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 306.9% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,385,000 after buying an additional 307,479 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its stake in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% in the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,606,000 after acquiring an additional 266,969 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $97,042,000. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in Caterpillar by 99.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,060,000 after acquiring an additional 244,253 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $357.56.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE CAT traded up $3.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $379.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,633,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,204,125. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.88 and a 52-week high of $403.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $372.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $351.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.49%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.