Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Acquired by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

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 position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 87.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 134,754 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 62,727 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $44,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT traded up $2.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $423.09. 1,843,217 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,741,062. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $441.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.41. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $417.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $362.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.99 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $457.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

About Caterpillar

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.