Western Wealth Management LLC Grows Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 175,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,868,000 after purchasing an additional 8,102 shares in the last quarter. HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $428,000. Davidson Trust Co. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 1,177 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,424 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,334,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.3 %

CAT traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $344.63. 191,629 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,716,450. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The company has a market cap of $168.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $334.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $340.83.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. 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 1.64%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. HSBC boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.31.

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.