United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 44,175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,042,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the second quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $936,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Bell Bank boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the second quarter. Bell Bank now owns 1,865 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,986,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Resource Group raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 1,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $813.51 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $416.44 and a 52 week high of $1,073.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $373.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $868.12 and a 200-day moving average of $839.26.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $1.95. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.51% and a return on equity of 55.53%. The business had revenue of $20.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Caterpillar from $877.00 to $897.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,103.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial set a $980.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $845.00 to $882.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $995.52.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 32,401 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $808.98, for a total transaction of $26,211,760.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 34,555 shares in the company, valued at $27,954,303.90. This represents a 48.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off?highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.