MBL Wealth LLC Increases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

MBL Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 56.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the period. MBL Wealth LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $2,165,899,000. Groupe la Francaise increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 82.0% in the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,820,000 after acquiring an additional 12,278 shares in the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 132.9% during the 2nd quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 155.9% during the third quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,014,000 after acquiring an additional 28,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 9.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,037,000 after purchasing an additional 7,125 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Argus lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $616.00.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $582.25 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $627.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $567.17 and a 200 day moving average of $475.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $272.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,512 shares in the company, valued at $23,669,312.16. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at $45,106,333.24. This trade represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 61,895 shares of company stock valued at $34,007,516. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.