Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Cornerstone Advisors LLC

Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $14,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.6% in the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,591,000 after buying an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at $204,000. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 25.8% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 4,182 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $381.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $184.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $241.81 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $383.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $355.03.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

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.