D.B. Root & Company LLC Grows Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

D.B. Root & Company LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 16.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,296,641,000 after buying an additional 129,216 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,583,372,000 after acquiring an additional 96,479 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,481,000 after acquiring an additional 179,908 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,660,560,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $947,875,000 after acquiring an additional 529,420 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $337.38.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of CAT opened at $336.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $333.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $339.72. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.46%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate 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.