Zhang Financial LLC Raises Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Zhang Financial LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,090,000. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 34,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,637,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MFG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,308,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CAT. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $396.00 price target (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.92.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of CAT stock opened at $363.09 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $323.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $349.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $171.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.