Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.33.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE CAT opened at $351.01 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $382.16 and its 200 day moving average is $365.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $276.94 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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.