Clare Market Investments LLC Purchases Shares of 2,705 Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Clare Market Investments LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,916,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 3,949.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,494,568,000 after purchasing an additional 5,098,964 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 68,427.2% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,140,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,224,992,000 after buying an additional 3,136,020 shares during the period. Capital International Investors bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,225,317,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 573.1% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,504,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $861,947,000 after buying an additional 1,281,087 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,860,457,000 after buying an additional 928,974 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $906.00, for a total value of $326,160.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $480,180. The trade was a 40.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at $79,397,884.68. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $933.86 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $430.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $921.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $772.97. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $391.52 and a 12-month high of $1,073.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. The firm had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.25 EPS. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 32.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on CAT. Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar from $905.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $949.41.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off?highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.