Brookstone Capital Management Has $11.67 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $11,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 3,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 12.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 47,708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,024,000 after buying an additional 5,317 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Caterpillar by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 298,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,581,000 after acquiring an additional 27,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $366,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.2 %

CAT stock opened at $327.51 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $340.74 and its 200 day moving average is $328.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $382.01. The firm has a market cap of $160.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Company 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.