Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Purchased by Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 15.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 70,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 9,541 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $27,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Planning Inc now owns 1,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 14,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,748 shares in the last quarter. Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,833,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,845,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.65, for a total value of $7,941,849.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 465,339 shares in the company, valued at $215,289,088.35. The trade was a 3.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $491.67 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $511.50. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $443.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $384.17. The company has a market capitalization of $230.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $478.20.

About Caterpillar

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.