&Partners Increases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

&Partners increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 85.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,963 shares during the quarter. &Partners’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after acquiring an additional 129,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,583,372,000 after acquiring an additional 96,479 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,481,000 after acquiring an additional 179,908 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $1,660,560,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $947,875,000 after acquiring an additional 529,420 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.2 %

CAT traded up $4.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $346.51. 642,321 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,696,645. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $335.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $341.31. The firm has a market cap of $169.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.55 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.