J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Buys 660 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 347.7% during the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 6,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,574,000 after acquiring an additional 5,114 shares during the period. Amarillo National Bank boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 4,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,715,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction 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. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $385.97 on Monday. 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 capitalization of $188.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $368.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $350.81.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

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.