Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 105 shares during the quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,582,000 after purchasing an additional 75,973 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,069,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,022,488,000 after buying an additional 165,358 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in 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 buying an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 10.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,108,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $702,431,000 after buying an additional 198,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,020,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $740,225,000 after acquiring an additional 119,326 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $358.19.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $0.79 during trading on Monday, hitting $380.42. The company had a trading volume of 335,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,613,495. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $372.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $351.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $233.57 and a 12 month high of $403.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.