Golden State Wealth Management LLC Buys 232 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,558 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,060,730,000 after buying an additional 1,196,861 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $353,231,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,483,937,000 after buying an additional 724,477 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $399.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $351.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $346.95. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Evercore ISI lowered their target price 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. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $380.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.