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

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2,277.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to 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 acquiring an additional 32,449 shares during the quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $384.07 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $185.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $381.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $354.20. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $241.81 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 3.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

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.