Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors Acquires 213 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,434 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for 0.9% of Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $5.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $332.97. 580,268 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,652,291. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $340.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $328.07. The company has a market cap of $162.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen upped 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. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

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.