Jessup Wealth Management Inc Takes Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 7.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,558 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 27.9% during the first quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $568.50.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $578.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $478.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $409.18. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $596.21. The company has a market capitalization of $270.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.01%.

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.