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

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $407.95 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $381.07 and a 200 day moving average of $369.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $293.13 and a fifty-two 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 approximately $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.