United Bank Purchases 2,125 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• United Bank increased its shares in Caterpillar Inc. by 108.5%, acquiring an additional 2,125 shares in the second quarter, raising its holdings to 4,083 shares worth $1.58 million.
• Several hedge funds have significantly boosted their positions in Caterpillar, with Valeo Financial Advisors increasing its stake by a staggering 36,842.1% during the same period.
• Caterpillar's quarterly earnings report revealed earnings per share of $4.72, missing consensus estimates of $4.88, while also disclosing a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share to be paid on November 20th.

United Bank raised its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 108.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,083 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,125 shares during the period. United Bank's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $466,430,000 after buying an additional 1,364,183 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $391,788,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 546.6% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $327,297,000 after buying an additional 712,711 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,064,951,000 after buying an additional 268,300 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $527.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $247.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $453.38 and a 200-day moving average of $390.54. 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 $544.99.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $425.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $510.60.

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.

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