Empirical Asset Management LLC Acquires 45 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 45 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of CAT opened at $393.95 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $403.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $358.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $349.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $355.50.

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.