Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Raises Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 87.1%, acquiring a total of 134,754 shares valued at approximately $44.4 million.
• Caterpillar recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, reflecting an increase from its previous dividend of $1.41 and representing an annualized yield of 1.5%.
• In the latest quarterly earnings report, Caterpillar missed earnings expectations with an EPS of $4.72, despite exceeding revenue estimates at $16.57 billion.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 87.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,754 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 62,727 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $44,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $457.20.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $5.31 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $417.47. The company had a trading volume of 516,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,729,400. The company has a fifty day moving average of $417.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $363.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $441.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

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. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 30.72%.

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.