Inspire Advisors LLC Buys 1,694 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for about 0.4% of Inspire Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. UBS Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $355.50.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:CAT traded down $3.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $391.32. The stock had a trading volume of 570,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,631,524. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $191.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $362.75 and a 200 day moving average of $350.23. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $403.60.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.