Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 5,371 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 729,654 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Caterpillar worth $285,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $433,000. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,297,882 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $475,583,000 after acquiring an additional 115,429 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co grew its stake in Caterpillar by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 780 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 151,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,661,000 after purchasing an additional 28,900 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $358.19.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.9 %

CAT traded down $12.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $396.17. 2,260,505 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,626,952. The stock has a market cap of $192.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $233.82 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $376.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $352.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.77 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,092 shares of company stock worth $4,059,378. 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.