Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Purchased by Massachusetts Wealth Management

Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises approximately 1.4% of Massachusetts Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Massachusetts Wealth Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Trivium Point Advisory LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 132.9% in the second quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 9.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,037,000 after purchasing an additional 7,125 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Caterpillar by 11.2% in the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 14,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $427,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.5% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 15,347 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Up 3.2%

CAT stock opened at $502.08 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $509.48. The company has a market cap of $235.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.46. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $440.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $381.76.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 30.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $473.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.65, for a total transaction of $7,941,849.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 465,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,289,088.35. This represents a 3.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.