Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Acquires 197 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased 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 directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $393.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $192.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $403.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $363.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $350.34. 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 released 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 company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.