Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Purchases 1,262 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $20,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $32,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $610.32.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.7%

Caterpillar stock opened at $603.27 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $542.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $453.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $607.00.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $8,673,808.14. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,457,335.17. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,874,576.40. The trade was a 55.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 79,061 shares of company stock valued at $41,949,366. Corporate insiders own 0.33% 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.