Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Purchases 2,359 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 60.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,242 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,359 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 6,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Linscomb Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $1,057,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE CAT traded up $3.30 on Friday, reaching $385.18. The stock had a trading volume of 4,445,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,546,518. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $342.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $346.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $181.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $380.83.

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.