Gouws Capital LLC Has $4.94 Million Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Gouws Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up about 3.0% of Gouws Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Gouws Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victrix Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $2,090,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after purchasing an additional 15,347 shares during the period. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $579,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,202,000 after purchasing an additional 30,070 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 22,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,483,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $444.00.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of CAT opened at $416.43 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $393.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $355.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $441.15. The company has a market cap of $195.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%. The business had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

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.