Stonegate Investment Group LLC Acquires 12,513 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 125.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,513 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $10,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,656,286,000 after buying an additional 208,196 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $2,165,899,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,295,432,000 after purchasing an additional 33,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,282,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,274,385,000 after purchasing an additional 140,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $636.63 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 firm has a market capitalization of $297.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.68, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $596.16 and a 200-day moving average of $513.74. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $655.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.17 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at $4,874,576.40. This represents a 55.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. This represents a 15.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 54,729 shares of company stock worth $31,084,308 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $690.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Argus raised their price target on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $637.70.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.