Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stake Increased by Cooper Financial Group

Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the quarter. Cooper Financial Group’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 59.3% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,871,000 after purchasing an additional 14,382 shares during the period. Lyell Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.4% in the second quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 35,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,781,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,318,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $439,359,000 after purchasing an additional 12,979 shares during the period. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 6.1% in the second quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in Caterpillar by 1,342.4% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 53,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,811,000 after acquiring an additional 49,762 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded up $10.67 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $361.67. 1,358,406 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,761,204. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $276.94 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $382.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $365.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued 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 return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.