Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after buying an additional 6,212 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in Caterpillar by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,084,000. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $204,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $407.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $196.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $293.13 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $380.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $368.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.60.

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.