Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases 824 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 824 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $17,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $397.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $385.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $355.46. The stock has a market cap of $191.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $246.01 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on CAT shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

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.