Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Purchased by Granite Investment Partners LLC

Granite Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 28.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.5% during the second quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 84,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,942,000 after buying an additional 2,900 shares in the last quarter. Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Westerkirk Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,799,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.2% during the second quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 32,741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $8,673,808.14. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,457,335.17. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total transaction of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. The trade was a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 79,061 shares of company stock worth $41,949,366. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.6%

CAT stock opened at $582.68 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $534.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $447.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $272.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The business’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $610.32.

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.