Valmark Advisers Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 3,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on CAT. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.50.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.7 %

CAT opened at $387.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $403.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $370.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $350.94.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released 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 firm had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.