Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Purchased by Advisors Capital Management LLC

Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 77,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $36,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $470.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $729.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Caterpillar from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, CICC Research initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, February 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $702.95.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE:CAT opened at $764.27 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $789.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $641.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $546.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $357.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.14 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total transaction of $16,314,812.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 79,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,574,954.83. This represents a 22.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total transaction of $5,750,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,142,227.60. This represents a 18.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 138,436 shares of company stock worth $94,425,251. 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.