Panagora Asset Management Inc. Buys 18,376 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 199.8% during the first quarter, owning 27,575 shares valued at over $9 million after acquiring an additional 18,376 shares.
• Multiple brokerages have raised their price targets for Caterpillar, with JPMorgan Chase setting a target at $520 and Citigroup at $500, indicating strong investor confidence in the stock.
• Caterpillar recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.51, an increase from the previous $1.41, with a dividend yield of 1.4%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 199.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,575 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,376 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of 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 period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2,723.1% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $466,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,183 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $391,788,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 8.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 312,878 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $108,958,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Melius raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $493.00 to $480.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Two investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $457.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the company'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 sale, the chairman owned 482,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.7%

CAT stock traded up $2.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $423.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,843,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,741,062. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $441.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $417.05 and a 200 day moving average of $362.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were given a $1.51 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 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.