Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Purchases 91 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for 3.1% of Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $388.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $190.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $367.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $350.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $403.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The company 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 quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other 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 price 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, 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, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $355.50.

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.