Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 57 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 959 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 57 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth 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, Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CAT. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 price objective (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value 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 $11,750,181.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $3.35 on Thursday, reaching $333.40. The company had a trading volume of 338,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,668,364. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $339.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $343.25. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.46%.

Caterpillar declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.