Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Klingman & Associates LLC

Key Points

• Klingman & Associates LLC has increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 128.4% in the first quarter, owning 1,606 shares valued at approximately $530,000.
• Caterpillar recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, an increase from $1.41, with a dividend yield of 1.5%.
• Analysts predict Caterpillar will post earnings per share of 19.86 for the current fiscal year, reflecting a general confidence in the company's growth potential.

Klingman & Associates LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 128.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,606 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 903 shares during the quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $466,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,183 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $391,788,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,060,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.4%

CAT stock traded down $10.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $407.41. 3,105,803 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,164,488. The business's 50 day moving average price is $399.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $356.18. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $441.15. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $190.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. Caterpillar's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $444.00.

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.