Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Diversified LLC

Diversified LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Diversified LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $401.50 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $386.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $356.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $246.01 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

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.