Means Investment CO. Inc. Increases Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Means Investment CO. Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 2.5% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at about $456,000. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 21.8% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,596,000 after buying an additional 1,270 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 2.1% during the first quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 21,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,031,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its position in Caterpillar by 31.1% during the first quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 2,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 588 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of CAT opened at $393.86 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $363.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $350.34. The company has a market capitalization of $192.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The business 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 quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup increased their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $355.50.

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.