Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 960 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $2,165,899,000. Groupe la Francaise increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 82.0% during the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,820,000 after purchasing an additional 12,278 shares during the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 132.9% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.9% during 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 buying an additional 7,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palmer Knight Co bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,884,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.44, for a total transaction of $5,714,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 55,460 shares in the company, valued at $31,692,062.40. The trade was a 15.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,669,312.16. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 79,061 shares of company stock valued at $41,949,366 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $612.16.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $590.11 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $276.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $627.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $556.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $464.04.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The business had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.17 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.01%.

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.