Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 318,276 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,163 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Caterpillar worth $106,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $344.69 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $334.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $341.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Caterpillar 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.