Empirical Asset Management LLC Purchases 6,251 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 455.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,251 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,987,206,000 after purchasing an additional 67,148 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,582,000 after acquiring an additional 75,973 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,262,290,000 after purchasing an additional 8,088 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $386.03 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $380.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $366.76. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $277.66 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly 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). The business 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%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.