Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC Makes New $546,000 Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,546 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $546,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE CAT traded up $7.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $351.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,238,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,636,514. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $318.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $351.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $396.00 price objective (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $375.33.

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.