Stiles Financial Services Inc Grows Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 215.4% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $402.50 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $376.06 and a 200-day moving average of $352.50. The company has a market capitalization of $195.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $233.82 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar 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 in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,092 shares of company stock worth $4,059,378. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $358.19.

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.