Ballew Advisors Inc Buys 91 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ballew Advisors Inc increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the quarter. Ballew Advisors Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,396,000. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc increased its position in Caterpillar by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 2,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, MFG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,308,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $360.85 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $325.40 and its 200 day moving average is $348.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $169.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.60 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $396.00 target price (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus 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.