Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Stock Position Boosted by Allied Investment Advisors LLC

Allied Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for about 3.0% of Allied Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Allied Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $16,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its position in Caterpillar by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $425.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $518.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $522.13 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $544.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $464.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $398.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

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.