Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Increases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 16.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,950 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Caterpillar by 306.9% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,385,000 after acquiring an additional 307,479 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its position in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,606,000 after purchasing an additional 266,969 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth $97,042,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 99.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,060,000 after buying an additional 244,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 104.6% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 391,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $128,768,000 after buying an additional 200,134 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup upped their price target on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $355.50.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $393.86 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $403.60. The firm has a market cap of $192.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $363.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $350.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.46%.

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.