Foguth Wealth Management LLC. Purchases New Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Foguth Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 12.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 47,708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,024,000 after purchasing an additional 5,317 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.3% during the third quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 7,919 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,162,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $4,357,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.4% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,168,000 after acquiring an additional 71,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.4% during the third quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 18,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,981,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.7 %

CAT traded up $5.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $333.10. 8,891,479 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,519,845. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $340.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $329.04. 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 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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. HSBC upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

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.