Empirical Finance LLC Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 267 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,831,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Vectors Research Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC now owns 2,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 72,743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,451,000 after purchasing an additional 3,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.0% during the third quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 5,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,237,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $386.30 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $379.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $353.59. The company has a market capitalization of $186.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $241.81 and a one year high of $418.50. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS 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 business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar 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.