Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Everpar Advisors LLC

Everpar Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 301.4% in the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,321 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 9,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,291,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $523,000. Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.4% in the second quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 13,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,588,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% during the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 2,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $380.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $183.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $276.94 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $380.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $366.36.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 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, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

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.