Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $407.95 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $293.13 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $381.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $369.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CAT. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 over the last three months. Company 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.