OneAscent Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

OneAscent Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 71.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.4% in the first quarter. Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,044,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Atwater Malick LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the first quarter. Atwater Malick LLC now owns 42,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,639,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 15.7% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 567 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $183,000. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% in the first quarter. Norwood Financial Corp now owns 4,204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,540,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.7 %

CAT stock traded up $5.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $333.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,891,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,519,845. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $340.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $328.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.