Perennial Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 475 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 38.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,699 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• Caterpillar Stock Could Top $650 by Year’s End

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 3.4% during the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 22,689 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,483,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. Finally, Gries Financial LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 1,199 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $546.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $255.87 billion, a PE ratio of 28.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $596.21. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $511.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $431.86.

• From Bulldozers to Big Data: Caterpillar’s Bull Case Gets a Lift

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The business's revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

• Caterpillar Stock Hits All-Time High—Is There More Room to Run?

In other Caterpillar news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total value of $686,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $757,047.06. The trade was a 47.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,229 shares of company stock valued at $43,323,118. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Erste Group Bank upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $600.94.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Caterpillar

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.

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