Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Buys 200 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 28.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.5% in the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,325,000 after buying an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Longbow Finance SA purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $12,689,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $213,000. Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.5% in the second quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 8.7% in the second quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 11,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,483,000 after buying an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE CAT opened at $578.28 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $478.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $410.02. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $596.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $270.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.17 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $568.50.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. Company insiders own 0.33% 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.