Golden State Equity Partners Purchases 1,703 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Golden State Equity Partners raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 47.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,314 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,703 shares during the quarter. Golden State Equity Partners' holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 471 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 1,238 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. BBR Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 4,162 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 184 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $380.83.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $373.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $175.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.37. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $336.93 and its 200-day moving average is $346.43. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. 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 27.49%.

About Caterpillar

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.

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