Global Retirement Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 16,202 Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,290,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $610.32.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $560.05 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $596.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $521.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $438.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.09 billion, a PE ratio of 28.75, 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at $4,874,576.40. This represents a 55.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 86,229 shares of company stock worth $43,323,118 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.