ZRC Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

ZRC Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 74.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 380 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $48,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,296,641,000 after buying an additional 129,216 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,583,372,000 after acquiring an additional 96,479 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,481,000 after purchasing an additional 179,908 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,660,560,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was 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 directly owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC raised their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of 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, nine have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $330.61 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $338.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $330.09. The company has a market cap of $161.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

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.