Summit X LLC Purchases 32 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Summit X LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the quarter. Summit X LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $805,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,090,000. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $579,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 18.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,202,000 after buying an additional 30,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.8% during the first quarter. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $406.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director owned 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.0%

CAT stock opened at $412.89 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $365.97 and its 200 day moving average is $349.05. The company has a market capitalization of $194.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.38. 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 issued its 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 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

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.