Clarion Wealth Managment Partners LLC Makes New $496,000 Investment in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Clarion Wealth Managment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $2,165,899,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Caterpillar by 546.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,297,000 after purchasing an additional 712,711 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 425.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 761,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $295,738,000 after buying an additional 616,739 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 36,586.2% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 433,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,340,000 after buying an additional 432,449 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 80,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. This trade represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.44, for a total value of $5,714,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,460 shares in the company, valued at $31,692,062.40. This represents a 15.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 79,061 shares of company stock worth $41,949,366 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $597.88 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $627.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $554.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $461.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $279.80 billion, a PE ratio of 30.69, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 31.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. HSBC raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $612.16.

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.