Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Acquired by Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 59 shares during the quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Aire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 9,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,510,000 after buying 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 worth $1,923,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.5% during the second quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $518.19.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $522.13 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $464.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $398.36. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $544.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions 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 transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.