Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 36,586.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 433,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 432,449 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $168,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other 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 position in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total value of $686,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,323 shares in the company, valued at $757,047.06. The trade was a 47.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at $45,106,333.24. This trade represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 86,229 shares of company stock valued at $43,323,118. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $560.05 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $521.18 and its 200 day moving average is $438.34. The company has a market capitalization of $262.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.75, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $596.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results 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. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $610.32.

Caterpillar Company 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.