Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Stock Holdings Lifted by Simon Quick Advisors LLC

Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $582.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $596.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $475.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $406.43. The firm has a market cap of $272.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 30.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 448,173 shares in the company, valued at $226,457,335.17. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Caterpillar from $502.00 to $557.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their target price on Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $450.00 to $506.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $562.25.

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.