Martingale Asset Management L P Increases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 99.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,273 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth approximately $604,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 71.7% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 12.0% during the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 16.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,997,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 21.2% in the second quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 3,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $406.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $196.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $247.84 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $391.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $357.75.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays increased their price objective 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. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,589 shares of company stock worth $7,113,953. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.