Accel Wealth Management Boosts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Accel Wealth Management grew its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 72 shares during the quarter. Accel Wealth Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CAT. Oppenheimer reiterated 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, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $330.61 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $382.01. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $338.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $330.09. The firm 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 quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

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

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio 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.