Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1,619.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,749 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 47.2% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.9 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $374.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $380.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $366.26. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $276.94 and a twelve month high of $418.50. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly 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). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $381.67.

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.