Zimmer Partners LP Grows Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Zimmer Partners LP significantly increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. by 125.6%, owning 67,950 shares worth approximately $22.41 million as of the latest quarterly filing.
• Caterpillar's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $4.72, falling short of expectations, although revenue increased to $16.57 billion, surpassing analyst estimates.
• The company recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $1.51, reflecting a 1.4% yield and a payout ratio of 30.72%.

Zimmer Partners LP increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 125.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,950 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,830 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $22,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $457.20.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $431.10. 2,341,271 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,360,946. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $420.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $365.49. The firm has a market cap of $201.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.93, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.99 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.