Mustard Seed Financial LLC Raises Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Mustard Seed Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,887 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 51 shares during the quarter. Mustard Seed Financial LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $738,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.2% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after buying an additional 6,212 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at about $926,000. First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.5% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 278,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,688,000 after purchasing an additional 9,321 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $355.50.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded down $4.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $389.89. The stock had a trading volume of 857,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,643,349. 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 50-day simple moving average of $358.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $349.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $403.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.