Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC Acquires 2,900 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $32,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.4%

CAT stock opened at $567.44 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $532.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $446.34. The stock has a market cap of $265.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $757,047.06. This represents a 47.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at $45,106,333.24. The trade was a 15.43% 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 69,061 shares of company stock worth $36,234,966 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target for the company. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $610.32.

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.