Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Acquired by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 19.1% in Q3 to 116,589 shares valued at about $55.63 million, with institutional investors owning roughly 70.98% of the stock.
• Company insiders have sold a total of 135,950 shares worth $94.33 million in the past three months, including CEO Joseph E. Creed's sale of 2,500 shares and Bob De Lange's sale of 22,656 shares.
• Caterpillar beat estimates with Q results of $5.16 EPS vs. $4.67 consensus and revenue of $19.13B (up 17.9% YoY); analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a target of $730.50 as the stock trades near $694.

Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 19.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,589 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,676 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises 0.2% of Gotham Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $55,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 108.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,083 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,147 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,551,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $227,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $718.93, for a total transaction of $1,797,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 35,083 shares in the company, valued at $25,222,221.19. This represents a 6.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total value of $16,314,812.16. Following the transaction, the insider owned 79,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $57,574,954.83. This represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 135,950 shares of company stock worth $94,327,990 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CAT. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $677.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $730.50.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of CAT opened at $693.89 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $322.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.53. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $789.81. The company's 50-day moving average price is $693.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $586.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The company had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.14 earnings per share. Caterpillar's revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company's product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

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