Cetera Advisor Networks LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,018 shares during the quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $29,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 9.4% during the second quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.9% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 70,597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,370,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Summit X LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 4.2% during the second quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $288,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,617,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $644,022,000 after purchasing an additional 118,042 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $251.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $127.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $260.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $252.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $204.04 and a 1-year high of $293.88.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $5.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.77. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.29% and a net margin of 13.69%. The firm had revenue of $16.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.95 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 29.46%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 2,923 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.00, for a total value of $815,517.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,514,778. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Caterpillar from $183.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Caterpillar from $287.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $323.00 to $297.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $267.68.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar, Inc engages in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It operates through the following segments: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy and Transportation, Financial Products, and All Other.