Thrive Wealth Management LLC Purchases 83 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Thrive Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Thrive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,660,560,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 28,603.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,417,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488,813 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 27,495.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,182,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $349,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,168 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,875,000 after acquiring an additional 529,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in Caterpillar by 5,293.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 482,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $142,620,000 after purchasing an additional 473,416 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE CAT traded up $5.66 on Friday, reaching $333.12. The company had a trading volume of 329,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,651,236. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The company’s fifty day moving average is $340.74 and its 200-day moving average is $328.07.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

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.