Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Holdings Raised by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 205,012 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 1.4% of Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,501,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI lowered 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America increased their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $397.49 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $246.01 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $386.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $356.00.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.