Stiles Financial Services Inc Purchases 112 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,582,000 after purchasing an additional 75,973 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Caterpillar by 5.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,069,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,022,488,000 after acquiring an additional 165,358 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 10.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,108,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $702,431,000 after acquiring an additional 198,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Caterpillar by 6.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,020,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $740,225,000 after purchasing an additional 119,326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $402.50 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $376.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $352.50. The company has a market capitalization of $195.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 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 $233.82 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 11,092 shares of company stock valued at $4,059,378 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $358.19.

Caterpillar 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.