Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Position Boosted by Noesis Capital Mangement Corp

Noesis Capital Mangement Corp increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,733 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,503 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up approximately 3.2% of Noesis Capital Mangement Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $15,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $403.65 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $194.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $390.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $357.08. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $246.01 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This represents a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.