Stokes Capital Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 10,933 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,933 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,606,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought 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 owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird upgraded Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.92.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $4.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $353.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,605,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,326. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $320.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $349.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were issued 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 1.60%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

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.