Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC Invests $214,000 in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,310,000 after buying an additional 3,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $327.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,994,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,670,109. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $340.74 and a 200 day moving average of $328.07. The firm has a market cap of $160.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.48%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Citigroup began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, HSBC lifted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Insider Activity 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $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.