Stokes Capital Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 815 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

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

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:CAT traded up $4.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $331.47. 921,041 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,655,686. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $340.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $328.07. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $162.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.48%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on CAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. TD Cowen increased 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. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Caterpillar Company 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.