GoalVest Advisory LLC Purchases 46 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 18.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.2 %

CAT stock opened at $327.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $160.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.79, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $340.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $328.07. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $382.01.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.