Paradiem LLC Buys 1,492 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Paradiem LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 33,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,492 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises approximately 3.7% of Paradiem LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Paradiem LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $15,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after buying an additional 7,279,991 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $2,165,899,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 546.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,297,000 after acquiring an additional 712,711 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 425.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 761,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $295,738,000 after purchasing an additional 616,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,777,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $848,177,000 after purchasing an additional 478,972 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Argus increased their price target on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $616.00.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $583.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $272.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $627.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $568.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $477.54.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.44, for a total value of $5,714,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 55,460 shares in the company, valued at $31,692,062.40. This represents a 15.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,669,312.16. This trade represents a 16.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,895 shares of company stock worth $34,007,516. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.