Garrison Asset Management LLC Takes $216,000 Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Garrison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,582,000 after acquiring an additional 75,973 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,069,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,022,488,000 after purchasing an additional 165,358 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,108,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $702,431,000 after purchasing an additional 198,123 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Caterpillar by 6.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,020,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $740,225,000 after acquiring an additional 119,326 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $357.56.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.1 %

CAT traded down $0.24 during trading on Monday, hitting $379.39. The company had a trading volume of 158,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,612,667. The company has a market cap of $183.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $233.57 and a 1-year high of $403.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $372.40 and a 200-day moving average of $351.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following 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 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, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.