Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Position Boosted by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 144,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,602 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $56,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’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 directly 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 sold 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.0 %

CAT opened at $397.49 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $246.01 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $386.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $355.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $191.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Bank of America increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

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.