Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 278,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,186,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Caterpillar as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 4th 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. Channel Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $325.47 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $316.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $354.96. 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.67.

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.