BCM Advisors LLC Acquires 56 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

BCM Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,056 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises about 0.6% of BCM Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. BCM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust raised its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CAT. Barclays boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $387.16 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $241.81 and a one year high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $186.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $378.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $353.36.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.