Noesis Capital Mangement Corp Buys 2,503 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Noesis Capital Mangement Corp grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,733 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,503 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises about 3.2% of Noesis Capital Mangement Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $15,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $405,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $604,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $97,042,000. Orleans Capital Management Corp LA raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Orleans Capital Management Corp LA now owns 7,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. FSA Advisors Inc. now owns 1,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $403.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.88 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $246.01 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $390.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $357.08.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors 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 yield of 1.40%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.