Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Acquires 8,584 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 15.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,584 shares during the quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $25,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $588.94.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,457,335.17. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total value of $686,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,323 shares in the company, valued at $757,047.06. This trade represents a 47.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 57,185 shares of company stock worth $26,245,964. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE CAT opened at $569.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $488.91 and its 200 day moving average is $415.91. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $596.21. The stock has a market cap of $266.80 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.17 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

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.