Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 205,012 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises 1.4% of Fisher Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.85% of Caterpillar worth $3,501,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.0 %

CAT stock opened at $397.49 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $191.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $386.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $356.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $246.01 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

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.