Phoenix Financial Ltd. Raises Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 49.8%, owning 8,039 shares valued at approximately $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 2,671 shares in the second quarter.
• Caterpillar recently reported quarterly earnings of $4.72 EPS, missing expectations, with a revenue of $16.57 billion, down 0.7% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.2%, payable to stockholders on November 20th.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 49.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,671 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 32.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,311 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,745 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the first quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,413 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.7% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 318,875 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $105,165,000 after purchasing an additional 8,271 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE CAT opened at $524.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $458.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $394.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $544.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $245.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $450.00 to $506.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $517.00 to $594.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $447.00 to $502.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.40.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.

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