Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 1,916 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 26.8% to a total of 9,063 shares, valued at approximately $2.99 million.
• Caterpillar recently reported $4.72 earnings per share, missing estimates, while revenue increased to $16.57 billion but was down 0.7% year-over-year.
• The company announced a raised quarterly dividend to $1.51, yielding 1.4%, reflecting a payout ratio of 30.72%.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 26.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,063 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,916 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721,693 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2,723.1% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $466,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,183 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $391,788,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,429,416,000 after buying an additional 312,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $108,958,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 482,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock traded up $8.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $431.62. 2,737,694 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,733,555. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $419.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $364.55. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $441.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Melius raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $457.20.

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.