Gotham Asset Management LLC Purchases 34,770 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 99.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 69,758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,770 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up about 0.4% of Gotham Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $15,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 130,632.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,784,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,343,859,000 after purchasing an additional 9,776,533 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,130,707 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,184,005,000 after acquiring an additional 110,026 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% in the first quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,522,869 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,721,533,000 after purchasing an additional 132,253 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,608,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,583,053,000 after acquiring an additional 969,222 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,665,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,296,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,083 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $266.00 to $282.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $183.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $279.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $263.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $267.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 18,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.33, for a total transaction of $5,238,121.02. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,684,931.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 2,923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.00, for a total value of $815,517.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,514,778. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 18,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.33, for a total transaction of $5,238,121.02. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,362 shares in the company, valued at $4,684,931.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,918 shares of company stock valued at $15,299,870 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT traded down $1.53 on Monday, hitting $280.75. 438,041 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,087,722. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.60 and a 1-year high of $293.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $269.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $5.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.57 by $0.98. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 55.93% and a net margin of 12.91%. The company had revenue of $17.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.82 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 20th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 19th. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.36%.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar, Inc engages in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It operates through the following segments: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy and Transportation, Financial Products, and All Other.