Chesapeake Wealth Management Boosts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Chesapeake Wealth Management lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Chesapeake Wealth Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $743,000. Aviso Wealth Management lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 113.2% in the third quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 2,034 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $795,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 2,277.1% during the 3rd quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 33,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,249,000 after purchasing an additional 32,449 shares during the period. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 56,791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,212,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $384.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $381.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $354.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $241.81 and a 12-month high of $418.50. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This represents a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 16.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.