Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 19.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. This 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 this hyperlink. In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $386.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $403.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $367.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $350.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.55 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $355.50.

About Caterpillar

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.