First Command Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 15.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $447.00 to $502.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $612.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $425.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $518.19.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.3%

CAT opened at $522.13 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $544.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $464.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $399.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

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.