Gouws Capital LLC Purchases 270 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Gouws Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,547 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up approximately 2.8% of Gouws Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Gouws Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Citigroup began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 price objective (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock traded up $4.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $356.10. 2,974,052 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,369,276. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $338.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $342.75.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.46%.

Caterpillar announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.