Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Buys 32,449 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2,277.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,874 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,449 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.4% in the third quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 56,791 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $22,212,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 168.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 5,911 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 3,711 shares in the last quarter. S&CO Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 115,744 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $45,269,000 after buying an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 8.3% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Asset Management LLC VA lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 14.3% in the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 6,359 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,487,000 after buying an additional 795 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $383.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 680,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,605,161. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $185.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $381.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $354.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $241.81 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

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.