Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 2,055 Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,055 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,189,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 108.5% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,083 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,147 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,551,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 572,165 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $222,120,000 after buying an additional 34,846 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 32,401 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $808.98, for a total transaction of $26,211,760.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,954,303.90. The trade was a 48.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $813.51 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $416.44 and a 1 year high of $1,073.46. The company has a market cap of $373.95 billion, a PE ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock's 50-day moving average is $868.12 and its 200 day moving average is $839.26.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 20th. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 28.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on CAT shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $845.00 to $882.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $900.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $877.00 to $897.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $1,002.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $995.52.

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.

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