Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Has $4.48 Million Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 26.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,367 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 215.4% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $357.56.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $5.59 on Friday, hitting $381.79. The stock had a trading volume of 435,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,618,589. The company has a market capitalization of $185.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $371.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $351.32. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.88 and a twelve month high of $403.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.