Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,472 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 306.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 307,479 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,606,000 after purchasing an additional 266,969 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $97,042,000. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in Caterpillar by 99.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $179,060,000 after buying an additional 244,253 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 3.6 %

CAT stock opened at $393.37 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $233.82 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $376.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $352.75.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $362.40.

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.