Safeguard Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Safeguard Financial LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $77,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Farmers Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.1% in the first quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Osher Van de Voorde Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Collective Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.50.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $390.04 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $403.60. The company has a market capitalization of $190.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $360.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $349.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.55 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

About Caterpillar

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.