Prospera Private Wealth LLC Buys New Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 18,635 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $7,288,000. Caterpillar comprises approximately 1.3% of Prospera Private Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in 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 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, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 3.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6 %

CAT stock traded down $2.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $380.05. The company had a trading volume of 721,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,305. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $241.81 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $183.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $383.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $355.03.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CAT. Barclays lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America lifted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar Profile

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.