Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $33,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $528.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $247.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $531.56. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $446.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $386.71.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.99 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CAT. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.47.

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.