Brookstone Capital Management Buys 24,435 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 78.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,711 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,435 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $18,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 18,802 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,821,000 after buying an additional 2,029 shares during the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 1,112 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $805,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 target price (up from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $380.83.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE CAT traded up $0.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $399.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,737,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,523,847. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $188.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.38. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $350.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $346.79.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.