Westchester Capital Management Inc. Purchases 111 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Westchester Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 111 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises 5.8% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $24,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $2,833,836,000 after buying an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of 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. raised its position in shares of 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. raised its position in shares of 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. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,141,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,036,211,000 after purchasing an additional 150,533 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $491.67 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $230.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $443.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $384.49. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $511.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.99 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $478.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.65, for a total value of $7,941,849.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 465,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $215,289,088.35. The trade was a 3.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.