Eagle Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 46.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,396,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 89.6% during the 4th quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $396.00 price target (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.92.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $358.70 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $322.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $349.19. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $168.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.60 earnings per share. The business’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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

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.