Live Oak Investment Partners Purchases New Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,306,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 31.4% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Balefire LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 16.7% in the second quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 1,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group grew its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,913 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $743,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total transaction of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,106,333.24. The trade was a 15.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,512 shares in the company, valued at $23,669,312.16. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,729 shares of company stock valued at $31,084,308. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $647.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $585.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $500.31. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $652.36. The firm has a market cap of $302.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The business’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $729.00 price target (up from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $623.10.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.