Vectors Research Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Vectors Research Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted 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 worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,356,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 16.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $387.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $379.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $353.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $241.81 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 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 issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

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.