Balboa Wealth Partners Has $473,000 Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Balboa Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 15.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,434 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Berry Wealth Group LP bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $269,000. Retirement Guys Formula LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 4,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,540,000 after buying an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 51,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,936,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Petros Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Petros Family Wealth LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ledyard National Bank lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 12,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,229,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $366.65 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $172.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $335.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $346.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup raised their target price on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America raised their target price on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.67.

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.