HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 503,020 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 26,923 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $196,827,000 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 company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,606,000 after purchasing an additional 266,969 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 34.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 104.6% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 391,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $128,768,000 after purchasing an additional 200,134 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 3.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $402.53 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $252.42 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.34 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $391.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $358.09.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

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.