Bensler LLC Has $593,000 Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Bensler LLC decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 139 shares during the period. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird raised Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $396.00 target price (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson raised their target price on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $360.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $325.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $348.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

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.