Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Position Boosted by Seizert Capital Partners LLC

Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Trivium Point Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 132.9% in the second quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.9% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 7,125 shares in the last quarter. Palmer Knight Co purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,884,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in Caterpillar by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 14,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,557,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $427,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $600.94.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $546.75 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $511.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $431.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total value of $686,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $757,047.06. This trade represents a 47.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. This represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 86,229 shares of company stock valued at $43,323,118 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.