Aspetuck Financial Management LLC Invests $214,000 in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Aspetuck Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $371.63 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $175.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $338.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $346.61.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $380.83.

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.