D.B. Root & Company LLC Makes New $273,000 Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

D.B. Root & Company LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $333.10 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $382.01. The company has a market capitalization of $162.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $340.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $329.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

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

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.46%.

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.