Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC Purchases 477 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 13.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,984 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 477 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $330.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $161.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $338.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $330.09.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 earnings per share 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 issued a $1.41 dividend. This is an increase 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 1.71%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

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 transaction, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 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.