Apollon Wealth Management LLC Has $7.55 Million Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,673 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 17.2% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $926,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $344.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,252,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,729,413. The stock has a market cap of $168.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $334.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $340.83. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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 $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Raymond James assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.31.

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.