Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,142 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 120.4% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 2,105 shares during the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 15.5% during the third quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,409,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.8% during the third quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after acquiring an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 144,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,461,000 after purchasing an additional 7,602 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $405.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $195.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $387.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $356.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $246.01 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $962,272.78. The trade was a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CAT. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

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.