18,635 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Bought by Prospera Private Wealth LLC

Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 18,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,288,000. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 1.3% of Prospera Private Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. West Family Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 10.5% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 413,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $161,814,000 after buying an additional 7,118 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $54,997,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in Caterpillar by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 27,845 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,892,000 after buying an additional 4,986 shares during the period. Finally, Lingohr Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.7% in the third quarter. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $382.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $184.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $382.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $354.71. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $241.81 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

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.