Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Purchased by Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC

Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $2,165,899,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1,851.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,830,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $873,382,000 after buying an additional 1,736,631 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Caterpillar by 425.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 761,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $295,738,000 after acquiring an additional 616,739 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,777,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $848,177,000 after acquiring an additional 478,972 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CAT. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $470.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. HSBC raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $625.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $568.86 per share, for a total transaction of $170,658.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,947 shares in the company, valued at $4,520,730.42. This trade represents a 3.92% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,729 shares of company stock valued at $31,084,308. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $628.61 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $655.68. The company has a market cap of $294.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.27, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $589.63 and a 200-day moving average of $506.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

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.