LPL Financial LLC Buys 43,594 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 879,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,594 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $344,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 17.2% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,308,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,835,000 after purchasing an additional 1,588 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 99.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $179,060,000 after purchasing an additional 244,253 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,020,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $740,225,000 after buying an additional 119,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 306.9% during 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The trade was a 3.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $381.44 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $384.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $355.22. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $241.81 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. 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. Barclays increased their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

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.