Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. Takes Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 1,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $523,000. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 24.9% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,670,000 after acquiring an additional 4,589 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 45,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,025,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.4% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 118,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,372,000 after purchasing an additional 3,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 208,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,347,000 after purchasing an additional 3,780 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $386.03 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $186.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $380.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $367.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $277.66 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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 owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

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.