Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Valmark Advisers Inc.

Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after purchasing an additional 129,216 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after buying an additional 96,479 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,139,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,406,471,000 after acquiring an additional 173,108 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,660,560,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,875,000 after acquiring an additional 529,420 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.3 %

CAT opened at $356.10 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $382.01. The company has a market cap of $174.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s fifty day moving average is $338.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $342.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.55 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 price target (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.31.

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.