ABN Amro Investment Solutions Purchases Shares of 8,243 Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

ABN Amro Investment Solutions purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Compass Financial Services Inc increased its position in Caterpillar by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 3.4%

CAT opened at $553.61 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $503.67 and a 200-day moving average of $425.24. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $596.21. 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 stock has a market cap of $259.08 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total value of $4,666,353.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,669,312.16. This trade represents a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 86,229 shares of company stock valued at $43,323,118 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. HSBC upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 price objective (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $600.94.

Caterpillar 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.