Thrive Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Thrive Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 83 shares during the quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after purchasing an additional 129,216 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,583,372,000 after acquiring an additional 96,479 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,481,000 after acquiring an additional 179,908 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,864,823,000 after acquiring an additional 47,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $1,660,560,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $5.66 on Friday, reaching $333.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 329,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,651,236. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $340.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $328.07. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01.

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

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

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.