Advisors Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,713 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $29,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,723.1% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $466,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,183 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $391,788,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 546.6% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,297,000 after purchasing an additional 712,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 9.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,064,951,000 after buying an additional 268,300 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $553.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $596.21. The company has a market capitalization of $259.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $503.67 and a 200-day moving average of $425.24.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. 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 31.01%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total value of $686,664.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,323 shares in the company, valued at $757,047.06. This represents a 47.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 86,229 shares of company stock worth $43,323,118 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 price objective (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $600.94.

Caterpillar Company 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.