GoalVest Advisory LLC Has $108,000 Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 18.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 31,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,674,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 3,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1,041.4% during the 1st quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 5,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the purchase, 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $327.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $340.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $328.07. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

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.