Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Stock Purchased by Strategy Asset Managers LLC

Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 376.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,172 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,457,153,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,818,150,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 68,427.2% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,140,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,224,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,136,020 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $3,192,710,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $2,783,451,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 32,401 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $808.98, for a total transaction of $26,211,760.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 34,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,954,303.90. This trade represents a 48.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on CAT. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $845.00 to $882.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. President Capital started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $999.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC set a $980.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $749.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $967.83.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $747.18 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $816.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $855.96. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $510.21 and a fifty-two week high of $1,073.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $343.46 billion, a PE ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $1.95. The firm had revenue of $20.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.34 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.51% and a return on equity of 55.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Investors of record on Monday, October 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Key Headlines Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer maintained an “outperform” rating and still sees substantial upside, although it lowered its price target to $1,009 from $1,118. Oppenheimer Caterpillar price-target update
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar maintained its quarterly dividend at $1.63 per share, payable November 19 to shareholders of record October 19. The company has paid annual cash dividends since its founding and quarterly dividends since 1933. Caterpillar Inc. Maintains Dividend

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. Its products are used in infrastructure development, construction, mining, energy production, transportation, agriculture, forestry, and other industrial applications.

The company markets equipment and related services through a worldwide network of independent dealers. Its operations are generally organized around Construction Industries, Resource Industries, and Energy & Transportation.