NWF Advisory Services Inc. Makes New $778,000 Investment in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

NWF Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $778,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aire Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $3,510,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the second quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $590.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $276.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $556.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $464.04. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $627.50.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, December 8th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $612.16.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of Caterpillar 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 sale, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at $4,874,576.40. The trade was a 55.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.44, for a total value of $5,714,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,692,062.40. The trade was a 15.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 79,061 shares of company stock valued at $41,949,366. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.