AlphaStar Capital Management LLC Buys New Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

AlphaStar Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,386,626,000 after acquiring an additional 264,054 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,089,798,000 after acquiring an additional 15,347 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,064,951,000 after acquiring an additional 268,300 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,141,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,036,211,000 after acquiring an additional 150,533 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,457,335.17. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In 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.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8%

CAT opened at $578.28 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $596.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $478.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $408.38. The company has a market cap of $270.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $568.50.

About Caterpillar

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.