Meridian Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 37,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,744,000. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 0.7% of Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 99.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $179,060,000 after purchasing an additional 244,253 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Caterpillar by 306.9% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,385,000 after buying an additional 307,479 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at about $9,366,000. Linscomb Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 10.5% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 148,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,547,000 after acquiring an additional 14,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CAT. Bank of America boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE CAT opened at $390.26 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $241.81 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $385.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $355.46.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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.