Brendel Financial Advisors LLC Increases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Brendel Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for about 2.2% of Brendel Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $29,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $347.56.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $396.64. 547,439 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,649,150. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $354.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $348.77. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $401.17. The company has a market cap of $193.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.55 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

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.