Stephens Inc. AR Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 91,532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,459 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $35,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 215.4% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $376.20 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $371.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $351.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $182.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $403.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted 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 business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of Caterpillar 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” 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 research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $357.56.

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.