Prospera Financial Services Inc Raises Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 7,293 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for about 1.0% of Prospera Financial Services Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $37,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,369,000. Chesapeake Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 7.7% during the third quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 2,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $970,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 14.7% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,060,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the period. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth about $743,000. Finally, Aviso Wealth Management grew its stake in Caterpillar by 113.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 2,034 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $384.53 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $381.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $354.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $241.81 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. This represents a 16.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This represents a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912 over the last ninety days. 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.