Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 84.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 244,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 111,727 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $94,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $562.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $596.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $491.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $417.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $588.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total value of $686,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,323 shares in the company, valued at $757,047.06. The trade was a 47.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,823 shares of company stock worth $34,477,790. Insiders own 0.33% 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.