Tectonic Advisors LLC Buys 32 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $605,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 17.2% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $926,000. First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 25.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of CAT opened at $385.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $188.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $403.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $368.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $350.95.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CAT. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $355.50.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.