Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Purchases 2,105 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 120.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,105 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $403.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $194.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $390.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $357.08. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $246.01 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CAT. Barclays increased their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

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.