Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA acquired a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 11,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,981,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Lam Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 220.0% in the 4th quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Monetary Solutions Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $1,050.00 to $1,155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Caterpillar from $980.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $980.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total transaction of $14,399,860.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at $48,631,913.85. This trade represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total value of $11,444,205.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,236,615.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:CAT opened at $889.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $409.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.26, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $405.46 and a one year high of $1,073.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $928.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $804.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The business had revenue of $17.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 32.45%.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.