Wealthfront Advisers LLC Increases Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,197 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $25,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 2,723.1% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $466,430,000 after buying an additional 1,364,183 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $391,788,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 546.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,297,000 after acquiring an additional 712,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $518.19.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.3%

Caterpillar stock opened at $522.13 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $544.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $464.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $399.24.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 30.72%.

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.