Core Wealth Partners LLC Purchases New Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Core Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Waterway Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,310,000 after buying an additional 3,558 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $2.85 on Thursday, reaching $330.61. 1,352,181 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,422,689. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The stock has a market cap of $161.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $338.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $330.08.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.