Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Gouws Capital LLC

Gouws Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises approximately 3.3% of Gouws Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Gouws Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six 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 target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $385.68. The stock had a trading volume of 498,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,606,321. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $241.81 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $379.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.59.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 3.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.