CSM Advisors LLC Buys 63,663 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

CSM Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 248.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 63,663 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for about 1.0% of CSM Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. CSM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $34,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the second quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 9,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% during the second quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $596.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total transaction of $686,664.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $757,047.06. The trade was a 47.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 71,823 shares of company stock worth $34,477,790. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2%

Caterpillar stock opened at $562.82 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $596.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $491.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $418.73. The company has a market cap of $263.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.01%.

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.