GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 76.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,356 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 140.0% in the 4th quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC now owns 60 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $940.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Williams Trading set a $825.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, February 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $923.14.

Key Headlines Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar’s Power & Energy business is being highlighted as a major growth opportunity, with rising backlog, capacity expansion, and demand from AI data centers supporting the company’s longer-term targets. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Separate coverage is reinforcing Caterpillar as a “power infrastructure play,” helped by a strategic framework agreement tied to up to 2.1 gigawatts of incremental power-generation assets, which suggests additional demand beyond its core construction and mining equipment businesses. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar was also mentioned among the stocks helping drive a strong Dow rally, indicating broader investor demand for the name during today’s market advance. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar was included in a hedge-fund stock screen, which may reflect institutional interest, but the item did not add a clear new catalyst by itself. Article Title

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $880.23 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $336.24 and a 12 month high of $931.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $791.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $690.84.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The company had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.25 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.06%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total transaction of $22,354,968.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. This trade represents a 21.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total transaction of $11,444,205.55. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares in the company, valued at $45,236,615.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 100,551 shares of company stock worth $91,170,351 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.