Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,167 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $18,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after buying an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in Caterpillar by 34.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 106.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 317,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,309,000 after purchasing an additional 163,725 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, 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 research report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.60.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $390.29 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $381.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $370.23. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $297.45 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389. 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.