Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Director James Fish, Jr. Buys 1,000 Shares of Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Director James Fish, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $620.39 per share, with a total value of $620,390.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,714 shares in the company, valued at $2,924,518.46. This trade represents a 26.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $623.53 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $775.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $807.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $286.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.65. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $537.08 and a one year high of $1,073.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.14. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.87% and a net margin of 15.21%. The firm had revenue of $20.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 26th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 26th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.58%.

Key Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar is expanding engine and turbine production to meet data-center demand, a growth opportunity for its power-generation business. The company also reported a record $78 billion backlog and strong quarterly growth, although margin pressure remains a concern. Article: Caterpillar expands production of engines and turbines to meet data center demand
• Positive Sentiment: Director James Fish bought 1,000 shares for about $620,000, increasing his holdings by roughly 27%. The insider purchase may signal confidence in Caterpillar’s prospects. Article: Caterpillar director share purchase
• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Capital Markets maintained a Buy rating after lowering its price target to $800 from $980, still indicating substantial potential upside from the price cited in the report. Article: Freedom Capital Markets price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar completed its acquisition of long-time dealer John Fabick Tractor Company, adding its Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan Upper Peninsula operations to the company’s dealer network. The deal may strengthen regional customer support, though its near-term financial impact is unclear. Article: Caterpillar acquires Fabick Cat dealership
• Negative Sentiment: DA Davidson cut its price target to $685 from $882 and kept a Neutral rating, citing valuation concerns despite improving demand. The debate over whether Caterpillar’s premium valuation and margin pressures are justified could weigh on sentiment. Article: Caterpillar target cut and margin concerns

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Freedom Broker dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $980.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $925.00 to $750.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $1,100.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 30th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $882.00 to $685.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,009.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $898.25.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 8.0% in the third quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. now owns 2,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.9% during the third quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 21.8% during the third quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC now owns 3,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,617,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Elite Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 113.2% in the 3rd quarter. Elite Wealth Management Inc. now owns 10,406 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,437,000 after purchasing an additional 5,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,201,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a manufacturer of construction, mining, and industrial equipment. Its product portfolio includes excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, motor graders, articulated trucks, and other machinery used in construction, infrastructure development, mining, quarrying, forestry, and related industries. The company also produces diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, generator sets, and other power-generation and transportation equipment.

Caterpillar operates through businesses focused on construction industries, resource industries, and energy and transportation.