Boltwood Capital Management Cuts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Boltwood Capital Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $349.64 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $319.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $350.35. The company has a market cap of $164.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird upgraded Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.92.

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.