Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Purchases 2,950 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,950 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 25.8% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 5,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,040,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,238,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 6,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,570,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, M3 Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

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

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $393.86 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $403.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $192.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $363.86 and its 200 day moving average is $350.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.55 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio 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.