Baugh & Associates LLC Invests $220,000 in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Baugh & Associates LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Waterway Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT traded up $4.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $332.31. 1,617,632 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,661,115. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $340.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $328.07. The company has a market capitalization of $162.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

About Caterpillar

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.