Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,832 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $10,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maridea Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. now owns 721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. BBR Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 4,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,993,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. May Hill Capital LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.1% during the third quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 850 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the third quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CAT. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $678.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $735.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $702.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total value of $26,656,109.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 43,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,524,818. This represents a 47.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total value of $5,750,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,142,227.60. This represents a 18.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 138,436 shares of company stock valued at $94,425,251. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:CAT opened at $764.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $357.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $641.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $546.70. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $789.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The business had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 32.09%.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.