Stephens Inc. AR Buys 1,459 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $35,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the second 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. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 215.4% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $357.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $376.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $371.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $351.32. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $403.60. The company has a market cap of $182.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Caterpillar 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.