Valley National Advisers Inc. Raises Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 347.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,114 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Ocean LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 3,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 52.9% in the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 2,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CAT. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.50.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $385.97 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $368.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $350.95. The company has a market cap of $188.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $403.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

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.