Vestor Capital LLC Makes New $4.18 Million Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Vestor Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 10,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,180,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 215.4% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.9 %

CAT stock opened at $379.63 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $184.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $233.57 and a twelve month high of $403.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $372.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $351.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays increased 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $357.56.

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.