Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 752 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,079 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 752 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 3.65 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,589 shares of company stock worth $7,113,953. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $406.11 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $196.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $391.37 and its 200 day moving average is $357.73. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $247.84 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

About Caterpillar

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.