Cherokee Insurance Co Invests $1.42 Million in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Cherokee Insurance Co purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,417,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its position 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 buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,669,312.16. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 77,846 shares of company stock valued at $38,241,493. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $596.59.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $573.22 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $268.25 billion, a PE ratio of 29.43, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $596.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $501.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 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.