Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 10,065 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,065 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $39,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,286,582,000 after buying an additional 75,973 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,069,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,022,488,000 after purchasing an additional 165,358 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 10.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,108,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $702,431,000 after purchasing an additional 198,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,020,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $740,225,000 after buying an additional 119,326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CAT. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $357.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 approximately $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $379.63 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.88 and a twelve month high of $403.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $372.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $351.32. The firm has a market cap of $184.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

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.