Insider Buying: Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Director Buys 500 Shares of Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

David Maclennan also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 23rd, David Maclennan bought 350 shares of Caterpillar stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.6 %

CAT stock traded up $5.40 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $342.15. 1,653,389 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,509,182. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $167.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $351.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $303.64. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.60 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $323.35.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 72,873 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $19,894,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154 shares during the period. Telemus Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 1,762 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 16.5% in the third quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,707 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,104,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 25.7% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 326,142 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $87,722,000 after purchasing an additional 66,767 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.