GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Sells 420 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 420 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,396,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $556,000. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $774,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $363.09 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $323.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $349.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released 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 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 the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.60 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given 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 1.66%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird upgraded Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated 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 given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.92.

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.