Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC Takes $232,000 Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 593 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 17.2% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,591,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at about $204,000. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after buying an additional 4,182 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock traded up $1.33 on Thursday, reaching $388.40. 96,956 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,610,088. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $241.81 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $379.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $353.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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 hyperlink. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.