Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC Has $6.84 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 5.7%, now holding 20,724 shares valued at approximately $6.83 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings on Caterpillar, raising the target prices, with UBS Group adjusting its target from $272 to $357 and JPMorgan from $475 to $520, reflecting increased investor confidence.
• Caterpillar recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $1.51, representing a dividend yield of 1.5% and highlighting positive cash flow management.

Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,724 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,255 shares during the period. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gen Wealth Partners Inc grew its position in Caterpillar by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 6,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,111,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 5,464 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,802,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 598,234 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $197,298,000 after acquiring an additional 83,939 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 8.2% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,644 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,531,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 17.6% during the first quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 597,249 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $196,973,000 after buying an additional 89,432 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $450.87.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:CAT traded up $4.1030 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $420.1930. The stock had a trading volume of 2,732,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,767,767. The business's 50 day moving average is $401.87 and its 200 day moving average is $356.48. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $441.15. The stock has a market cap of $196.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.99 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. 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 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.72%.

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.