Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Bought by HBK Sorce Advisory LLC

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,386,626,000 after acquiring an additional 264,054 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 15,347 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,064,951,000 after acquiring an additional 268,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,141,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,036,211,000 after acquiring an additional 150,533 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $586.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.89 billion, a PE ratio of 29.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $472.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $405.20. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $517.00 to $594.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $450.00 to $506.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $447.00 to $502.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $612.00 in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $518.19.

Caterpillar Company 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.