Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,429,416,000 after buying an additional 312,878 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,239,000 after buying an additional 3,721,693 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,089,798,000 after buying an additional 15,347 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,064,951,000 after buying an additional 268,300 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE CAT opened at $407.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $399.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $356.18. The company has a market capitalization of $190.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $441.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.99 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $444.00.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.