Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $7.13 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 526 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 14.5% during the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,458,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $205,000. Millburn Ridgefield LLC DE acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $235,000. Finally, Trinity Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 252.5% during the 1st quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,292 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $396.00 price objective (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $372.92.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $363.09 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $323.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $349.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% 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.