MML Investors Services LLC Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 146,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,694 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $57,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,622 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,848,000 after acquiring an additional 3,617 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $232,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 47.0% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 169 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $372.19.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $395.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $190.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $255.81 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $392.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $359.16.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.