Core Wealth Partners LLC Invests $223,000 in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Core Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Accel Wealth Management lifted its position in Caterpillar by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 13.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 15,225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,579,000 after buying an additional 1,770 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 13.6% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,984 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,460,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 5,271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 6,502 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,383,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price 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 boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. HSBC increased their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT traded up $2.85 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $330.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,352,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,422,689. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $338.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $330.08. The firm has a market cap of $161.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 EPS for the current year.

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 given a $1.41 dividend. This is a boost 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 1.71%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

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

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.