Greenwood Gearhart Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Greenwood Gearhart Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,642 shares during the period. Greenwood Gearhart Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $14,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during 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 during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.7% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 264,054 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 15,347 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 268,300 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.0% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,141,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,036,211,000 after buying an additional 150,533 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:CAT opened at $491.67 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $443.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $383.88. The company has a market capitalization of $230.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $511.50.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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. Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America increased their target price on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $478.20.

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.