Stokes Family Office LLC Increases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stokes Family Office LLC grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 18.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 275 shares during the quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $4.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $335.44. 2,451,277 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,693,222. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $337.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $331.43. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.73 EPS for the current year.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. TD Cowen upped their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

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.