Watershed Private Wealth LLC Decreases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Watershed Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for about 0.8% of Watershed Private Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Watershed Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of CAT opened at $349.53 on Wednesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $319.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $350.36. The firm has a market cap of $164.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.