Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys 179 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen upped their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $3.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $326.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,893,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,690,983. The company has a market cap of $159.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $382.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $337.50 and its 200-day moving average is $331.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar 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.