KPP Advisory Services LLC Acquires 74 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $877,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 1,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 7.1% during the second quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 21,148 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,210,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 6.2% during the second quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 14,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,703,000 after buying an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A grew its stake in Caterpillar by 8.2% during the second quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 1,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $230,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.3%

CAT opened at $520.40 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $462.16 and its 200-day moving average is $396.63. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $544.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $243.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $612.00 in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $447.00 to $502.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $518.19.

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.