Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 75.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 49,121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,094 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $17,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Encompass More Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,445,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Motive Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Services acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $639,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $406.60 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $293.13 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $196.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $380.20 and a 200 day moving average of $368.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its 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 net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.