Commonwealth Financial Services LLC Has $378,000 Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Commonwealth Financial Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1,041.4% in the 1st quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 31,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,674,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth $249,000. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 12,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,711,000 after acquiring an additional 2,440 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. 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 available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $386.94. 140,658 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,619,240. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $403.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $366.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $350.61.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $355.50.

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.