Chicago Capital LLC Acquires 515 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Chicago Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the quarter. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after purchasing an additional 129,216 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after buying an additional 96,479 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,139,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,406,471,000 after buying an additional 173,108 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $1,660,560,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,833,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $837,851,000 after buying an additional 131,755 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE CAT traded down $4.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $329.36. 2,676,623 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,680,938. The business’s 50-day moving average is $339.86 and its 200-day moving average is $343.24. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 22nd. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.46%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Caterpillar

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.