Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Drake & Associates LLC

Drake & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 30.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $394.54 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $403.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $192.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $362.75 and its 200-day moving average is $350.23.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.55 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $355.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Company 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.