Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Purchases Shares of 1,418 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Caterpillar by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,060,730,000 after buying an additional 1,196,861 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $353,231,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 50,072.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,938,000 after buying an additional 803,166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of CAT opened at $353.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $166.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $320.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $349.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.60 EPS. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $396.00 price target (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.92.

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.