Kestra Investment Management LLC Buys 1,273 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 63.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Aire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the second quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 9,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the second quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.9% during the second quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 9.8% in the second quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at $4,874,576.40. This trade represents a 55.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total value of $4,666,353.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,669,312.16. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 79,061 shares of company stock valued at $41,949,366 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on CAT. Hsbc Global Res raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $612.16.

Caterpillar Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of CAT opened at $597.88 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $279.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $627.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $554.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $462.36.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 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.