Seizert Capital Partners LLC Grows Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Seizert Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 31.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,870 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,308,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department grew its stake in Caterpillar by 18.8% in the first quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 4,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 5.0% in the first quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 7,935 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,908,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 13,483 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,940,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE CAT traded down $3.29 on Friday, hitting $384.07. 2,165,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,355,409. The company has a market cap of $185.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $381.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $354.20. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $241.81 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of Caterpillar 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. 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.