Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. Buys New Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 593 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of CAT stock opened at $513.70 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $544.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $460.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $394.97. The company has a market cap of $240.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $447.00 to $502.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $612.00 in a research report on Monday. Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $518.19.

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.