Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC Purchases Shares of 566 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after acquiring an additional 129,216 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,583,372,000 after purchasing an additional 96,479 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,481,000 after purchasing an additional 179,908 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,864,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $1,660,560,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $2.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $330.14. The stock had a trading volume of 480,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,699,732. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $339.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $330.08. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $161.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar 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.