Copley Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,045 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $800,000. Caterpillar comprises 0.7% of Copley Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. 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 note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $374.69.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $380.51. The company had a trading volume of 2,035,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,553,393. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $392.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $360.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $270.55 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. Caterpillar's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar 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.