Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,660,560,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 27,495.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,182,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $349,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,168 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,875,000 after buying an additional 529,420 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Caterpillar by 306.9% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,385,000 after buying an additional 307,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 139.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 502,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $148,505,000 after buying an additional 292,710 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Barclays lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 10th. UBS Group raised 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. HSBC raised their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’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 owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’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 owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,991 shares of company stock valued at $2,059,398 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $351.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $171.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $337.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $342.20. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.55 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.