Sunbeam Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.9% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 35.2% in the first quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 8.7% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 24,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,077,000 after purchasing an additional 1,964 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $495.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $438.25 and a 200 day moving average of $380.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $505.59.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.99 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 30.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $466.53.

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.