WMG Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

WMG Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. WMG Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Caterpillar by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $500.10 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $441.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $382.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $234.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $509.48.

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). The business had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.99 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $478.20.

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.