CSM Advisors LLC Purchases 63,663 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

CSM Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 248.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,663 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises approximately 1.0% of CSM Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. CSM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $34,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Aire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the second quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 9,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,510,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.9% in the second quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 9.8% in the second quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the second quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The stock was 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total value of $686,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $757,047.06. This represents a 47.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 71,823 shares of company stock worth $34,477,790. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HSBC raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $405.00 to $660.00 in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $596.59.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $562.82 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $596.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $491.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $418.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $263.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.01%.

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.