Moran Wealth Management LLC Has $21.59 Million Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Moran Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 55,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 111 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $21,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. This represents a 16.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $0.20 on Wednesday, hitting $382.13. 331,221 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,595,405. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $383.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $355.03. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $241.81 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

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.