Bailard Inc. Buys 5,355 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,355 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Aire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the second quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 9,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during the second quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 9.8% in the second quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the second quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 300 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $568.86 per share, for a total transaction of $170,658.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,947 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,520,730.42. This represents a 3.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 69,662 shares of company stock valued at $33,575,140 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $567.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $497.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $423.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $596.59.

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.