Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,457,153,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $5,818,150,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 68,427.2% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,140,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,224,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,136,020 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,192,710,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,783,451,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 32,401 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $808.98, for a total transaction of $26,211,760.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 34,555 shares in the company, valued at $27,954,303.90. This trade represents a 48.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.1%

CAT stock opened at $813.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $373.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $868.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $839.26. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $416.44 and a fifty-two week high of $1,073.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $1.95. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.51% and a return on equity of 55.53%. The firm had revenue of $20.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.72 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Caterpillar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 target price on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Caterpillar from $877.00 to $897.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $1,020.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $995.52.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.