Meridian Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 37,697 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $14,744,000. Caterpillar makes up approximately 0.7% of Meridian Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC grew 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $7.90 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $397.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,893,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,305,854. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $246.01 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company's 50-day moving average is $386.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $355.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $365.33.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.