Gouws Capital LLC Has $5.10 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Gouws Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,062 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,405 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up about 3.5% of Gouws Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Gouws Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Channel Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $326.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $156.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $364.49 and its 200 day moving average is $372.98.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

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.