813 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Purchased by Laraway Financial Advisors Inc

Laraway Financial Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.67.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $325.47 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $153.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $316.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $354.96. 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 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.