Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Acropolis Investment Management LLC

Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $604,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 71.7% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 12.0% during the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 3,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $406.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $247.84 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $391.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $357.75. The firm has a market cap of $196.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on CAT. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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 report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,589 shares of company stock valued at $7,113,953 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by 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.