Brighton Jones LLC Grows Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 51.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 52.5% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 17,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,812,000 after purchasing an additional 6,008 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 39.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 255,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,976,000 after purchasing an additional 71,788 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,108,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $702,431,000 after purchasing an additional 198,123 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $651,000. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 128,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,721,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $406.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $380.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $368.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $288.34 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) 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 net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Company 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.