GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 586 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.6% in the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,212 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 25.8% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 33.7% in the third quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,485,000 after buying an additional 4,182 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8 %

CAT opened at $359.77 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $276.94 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $384.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $363.74. The company has a market capitalization of $173.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CAT. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.33.

Caterpillar Company 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.