Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Stock: Triangle Securities Wealth Management Increases Position

Triangle Securities Wealth Management grew its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 98.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,060 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises about 1.9% of Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 440.0% during the 2nd quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 93.8% during the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 31 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Solutions Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 82.1% during the first quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $900.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $1,118.00 to $1,009.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. President Capital initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $999.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $845.00 to $882.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $967.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 32,401 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $808.98, for a total value of $26,211,760.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,954,303.90. This trade represents a 48.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of CAT opened at $747.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $343.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $510.21 and a 1 year high of $1,073.46. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $816.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $855.96.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $1.95. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.51% and a return on equity of 55.53%. The firm had revenue of $20.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.72 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 19th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 19th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

Caterpillar News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer maintained an “outperform” rating and still sees substantial upside, although it lowered its price target to $1,009 from $1,118. Oppenheimer Caterpillar price-target update
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar maintained its quarterly dividend at $1.63 per share, payable November 19 to shareholders of record October 19. The company has paid annual cash dividends since its founding and quarterly dividends since 1933. Caterpillar Inc. Maintains Dividend

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. Its products are used in infrastructure development, construction, mining, energy production, transportation, agriculture, forestry, and other industrial applications.

The company markets equipment and related services through a worldwide network of independent dealers. Its operations are generally organized around Construction Industries, Resource Industries, and Energy & Transportation.