Inspire Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 25.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up about 0.4% of Inspire Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $355.50.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $3.17 on Friday, hitting $391.32. 570,165 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,631,524. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $362.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $350.23. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $403.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

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.