Chiron Capital Management LLC Takes $379,000 Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Chiron Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $552.74 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $506.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $428.62. The company has a market cap of $258.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $568.86 per share, with a total value of $170,658.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,520,730.42. The trade was a 3.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,669,312.16. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 86,229 shares of company stock valued at $43,323,118. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. HSBC raised shares of 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 research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $729.00 price target (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $600.94.

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.