Kovack Advisors Inc. Has $2.35 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its position 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $5.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $387.54. 488,924 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,614,632. The company has a market cap of $187.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $241.81 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $377.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $353.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 $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 hyperlink. In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Company 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.