Inspire Investing LLC Raises Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,195 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up about 2.1% of Inspire Investing LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $19,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $45,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Melius Research raised shares of 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $478.20.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $491.67 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $511.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $443.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $383.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $230.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.72%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.