Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Acquired by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value 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 represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $226,457,335.17. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $562.25.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $582.30 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $596.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $475.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $406.43. The stock has a market cap of $272.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.17 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Caterpillar Company 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.