Private Advisor Group LLC Buys 3,408 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,078 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,408 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $23,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $399.00 price target (up previously from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $336.31.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $329.32 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $339.86 and its 200 day moving average is $343.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $161.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.87 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.46%.

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.