Invesco Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,282,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 140,784 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,274,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,656,286,000 after purchasing an additional 208,196 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $2,165,899,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 6.7% during the first 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,295,432,000 after buying an additional 33,467 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of CAT opened at $582.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $534.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $447.95. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $596.21. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.17 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $568.86 per share, for a total transaction of $170,658.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 7,947 shares in the company, valued at $4,520,730.42. This represents a 3.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,106,333.24. This trade represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 79,061 shares of company stock worth $41,949,366 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $610.32.

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.