Voleon Capital Management LP Purchases New Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,215,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $422.70 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $441.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $417.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $363.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.99 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $493.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $457.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company 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.