Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 26.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,959 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,148 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 17.2% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 6.4% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 219,154 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,342,000 after acquiring an additional 13,257 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co. increased its position in Caterpillar by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 3,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $606,000. Finally, Sax Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $384.53 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $381.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $354.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup cut their target price on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 3.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar 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.