Raymond James & Associates Acquires 5,761 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 608,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,761 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.12% of Caterpillar worth $238,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $355.50.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $393.86. The stock had a trading volume of 3,024,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,638,629. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $403.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company’s 50-day moving average is $363.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $350.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.55 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value 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 represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.