619 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Acquired by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $362.40.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $396.79 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $376.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $352.60. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.88 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $191.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by 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.