Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Leisure Capital Management

Leisure Capital Management increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the quarter. Leisure Capital Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,308,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $926,000. First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 3.5% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 278,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,688,000 after buying an additional 9,321 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $3.80 on Wednesday, hitting $391.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 505,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,641,952. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $360.22 and a 200-day moving average of $349.61. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $403.60. The company has a market capitalization of $191.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Raymond James initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.