Princeton Global Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 33.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 139 shares during the quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Financial Services Inc increased its position 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares in the company, valued at $226,457,335.17. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $517.00 to $594.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $507.00 to $582.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $450.00 to $506.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.40.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $531.80 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $249.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.05, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $455.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $393.23. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $544.99.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.72%.

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.