Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Has $13.43 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,145 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,212 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,656,286,000 after purchasing an additional 208,196 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after buying an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $2,165,899,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,386,626,000 after buying an additional 264,054 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,295,432,000 after buying an additional 33,467 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Argus raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $616.00.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE CAT opened at $583.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $627.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $568.28 and a 200-day moving average of $476.72. The company has a market cap of $272.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,874,576.40. This trade represents a 55.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $568.86 per share, with a total value of $170,658.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 7,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,520,730.42. The trade was a 3.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 61,895 shares of company stock worth $34,007,516 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

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.