Centaurus Financial Inc. Invests $3.82 Million in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,586 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,819,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 440.0% in the second quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 93.8% during the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 31 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $1,020.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $1,125.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $877.00 to $897.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,118.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $995.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 32,401 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $808.98, for a total transaction of $26,211,760.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 34,555 shares in the company, valued at $27,954,303.90. The trade was a 48.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $813.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $373.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.60. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $868.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $839.26. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $416.44 and a one year high of $1,073.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.22 by $1.95. The company had revenue of $20.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.34 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.51% and a return on equity of 55.53%. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.72 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company's product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CAT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.