Sharper & Granite LLC Buys New Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Sparser & Granite LLC has acquired a new position in Caterpillar Inc., purchasing 600 shares valued at approximately $239,000 in the 2nd quarter.
• Caterpillar recently reported a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, expected to be paid on November 20th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.2%.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Caterpillar stock, with JPMorgan setting a new target of $650.00, emphasizing a positive outlook for the company's performance.

Sharper & Granite LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 600 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in Caterpillar by 38.4% in the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 3,365 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. CAP Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.5% in the second quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 839 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 35.0% in the second quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,169 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Planning Center Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Planning Center Inc. now owns 1,367 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Cadinha & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $21,357,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $520.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $462.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $396.63. The stock has a market cap of $243.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $544.99.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.99 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Melius raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Erste Group Bank raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $507.00 to $582.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $518.19.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $8,673,808.14. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $226,457,335.17. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. 0.33% 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.

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