Tradition Wealth Management LLC Buys 140 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Tradition Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $406.11 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $247.84 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $391.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $357.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,589 shares of company stock worth $7,113,953. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.