Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Verum Partners LLC

Verum Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 19.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the quarter. Verum Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $341,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE CAT opened at $353.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $320.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $349.91. The company has a market capitalization of $166.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business 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 fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.92.

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.