Prospera Financial Services Inc Buys 16,785 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 88,450 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,785 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for about 0.8% of Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $50,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 140.0% in the fourth quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC now owns 60 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 82.9% in the third quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 46,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,210,388.80. This represents a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total transaction of $22,354,968.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. This trade represents a 21.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 100,551 shares of company stock valued at $91,170,351. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $880.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $405.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.81, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $791.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $690.84. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $336.24 and a one year high of $931.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. The business had revenue of $17.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $923.14.

Caterpillar News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar’s Power & Energy business is being highlighted as a major growth opportunity, with rising backlog, capacity expansion, and demand from AI data centers supporting the company’s longer-term targets. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Separate coverage is reinforcing Caterpillar as a “power infrastructure play,” helped by a strategic framework agreement tied to up to 2.1 gigawatts of incremental power-generation assets, which suggests additional demand beyond its core construction and mining equipment businesses. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar was also mentioned among the stocks helping drive a strong Dow rally, indicating broader investor demand for the name during today’s market advance. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar was included in a hedge-fund stock screen, which may reflect institutional interest, but the item did not add a clear new catalyst by itself. Article Title

Caterpillar Company 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.