Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Buys 1,400 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 103.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $450.00 to $506.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $507.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $540.00 to $612.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $517.00 to $594.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $518.19.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $524.86 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $544.99. The firm has a market cap of $245.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $468.92 and a 200 day moving average of $403.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,457,335.17. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.