Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 18,436 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 32.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 75,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,436 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $29,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 price objective (up from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $600.94.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of CAT opened at $550.87 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $596.21. The company has a market capitalization of $257.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $508.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $430.29.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $568.86 per share, for a total transaction of $170,658.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,520,730.42. This represents a 3.92% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,512 shares in the company, valued at $23,669,312.16. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 86,229 shares of company stock valued at $43,323,118. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Company 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.