Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Petros Family Wealth LLC

Petros Family Wealth LLC raised its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 27.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Petros Family Wealth LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after purchasing an additional 236,315 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after purchasing an additional 129,143 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,184,364,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.67.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE CAT opened at $366.65 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $335.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $346.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. 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.