Park Edge Advisors LLC Buys 402 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Park Edge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 19.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased 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 worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 3,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays increased their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $355.50.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $385.97. 1,606,883 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,622,578. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $368.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $350.95. The company has a market cap of $188.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $403.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired 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 in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was 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 currently 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.