Calamos Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 17.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,386,626,000 after buying an additional 264,054 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after buying an additional 15,347 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,064,951,000 after buying an additional 268,300 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,141,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,211,000 after buying an additional 150,533 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $527.41 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $453.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $391.52. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $544.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on CAT. Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $450.00 to $506.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares in the company, valued at $226,457,335.17. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.