Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 36,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up 0.7% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $11,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after buying an additional 284,366 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after purchasing an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,184,364,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,429,416,000 after purchasing an additional 312,878 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 price target (up from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $412.33.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $415.73 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $419.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $369.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $349.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The business’s revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Caterpillar

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.