PKS Advisory Services LLC Buys New Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

PKS Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 86,229 shares of company stock worth $43,323,118 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $610.32.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $545.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $596.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $516.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $433.49. The company has a market capitalization of $255.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 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.