Live Oak Investment Partners Purchases New Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,306,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC upgraded 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. Argus boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 price objective (up from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $623.10.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $646.95 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $588.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $505.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $655.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $302.76 billion, a PE ratio of 33.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.01%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, 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 sale, the insider owned 41,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,669,312.16. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total transaction of $5,750,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,142,227.60. This trade represents a 18.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,729 shares of company stock worth $31,084,308. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.