Occidental Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Occidental Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 615 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $54,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 47.2% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $380.85 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $276.94 and a one year high of $418.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $380.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $366.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is owned by 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.