Prospera Private Wealth LLC Takes $7.29 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,288,000. Caterpillar comprises about 1.3% of Prospera Private Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6 %

CAT opened at $382.26 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $382.87 and a 200-day moving average of $354.71. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $241.81 and a 1-year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. This represents a 16.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. Corporate insiders own 0.29% 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.