Caterpillar Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 28,236 call options on the company. This is an increase of 50% compared to the typical daily volume of 18,832 call options.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,874,576.40. This trade represents a 55.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $568.86 per share, for a total transaction of $170,658.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,947 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,520,730.42. This trade represents a 3.92% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 79,061 shares of company stock valued at $41,949,366 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $610.32.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $592.16 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $277.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.57. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $596.21. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $537.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $448.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

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.