Howard Capital Management Inc. Purchases 517 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE CAT opened at $524.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $468.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $403.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $544.99. The stock has a market cap of $245.89 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $507.00 to $582.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Caterpillar from $540.00 to $612.00 in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $518.19.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.