R Squared Ltd Buys 1,483 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,000. Caterpillar accounts for about 0.6% of R Squared Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,457,153,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,276,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,120,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396,356 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,818,150,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,192,710,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $2,783,451,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar News Summary

Investors following CAT have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar ended the third quarter with a record $78 billion backlog, nearly double the year-earlier level. Demand across construction, mining and power-generation equipment provides revenue visibility, while capacity expansion and automation investments could support growth. Article: CAT’s Record $78B Backlog Signals Strength: Can Growth Continue?
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI retained its Outperform rating and sees potential upside from current levels, despite cutting its price target to $833 from $1,045. Bank of America also maintained its Buy rating. Article: Caterpillar Keeps Sliding: Why Evercore ISI Still Sees 40% Upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary debates whether CAT’s substantial multi-year gains leave the stock fairly valued and how much recovery potential remains, rather than pointing to a clear near-term catalyst. Article: How Much Downside Is Left In Caterpillar Stock?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $882.00 to $685.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Needham & Company LLC set a $980.00 price objective on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $897.00 to $722.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,009.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Freedom Broker lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $980.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $898.25.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $605.54 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $537.08 and a 1-year high of $1,073.46. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $744.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $805.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $20.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.76 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.87% and a net margin of 15.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 26th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 26th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Joseph Creed sold 32,401 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $808.98, for a total transaction of $26,211,760.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 34,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,954,303.90. This represents a 48.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James C. Fish, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $620.39 per share, with a total value of $620,390.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,924,518.46. The trade was a 26.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc. is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, engines, turbines, and related products and services. Its offerings include earthmoving and material-handling machines, diesel and natural gas engines, power-generation systems, and equipment and technologies used in mining and transportation. The company’s products are commonly sold under the Cat brand. Caterpillar serves customers in markets around the world through a network of independent dealers. Its businesses also provide parts, maintenance, equipment rental, and other support services, as well as financing and insurance through its financial services operations.