Greenwood Gearhart Inc. Purchases 1,998 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Greenwood Gearhart Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 33,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,998 shares during the period. Greenwood Gearhart Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $12,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 42,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,632 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 18.7% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 105,872 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,266,000 after purchasing an additional 16,689 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% during the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 14,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,810,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 612.9% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,488,000 after buying an additional 3,886 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $399.34 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $192.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $259.12 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $393.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $359.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $374.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.29% 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.