Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 12.5%, holding 108,134 shares valued at approximately $35.66 million at the end of the quarter.
• During the same period, GAMMA Investing LLC significantly expanded its holdings by 43,447.3%, resulting in ownership of 3.73 million shares valued at about $1.23 billion.
• Caterpillar announced a quarterly dividend increase from $1.41 to $1.51, equating to an annualized yield of 1.5%, with a payout ratio of 30.72%.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,134 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,025 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $35,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $33,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $450.87.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $17.1140 during trading on Friday, reaching $435.0040. The company had a trading volume of 3,784,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,368,960. The company has a fifty day moving average of $405.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $357.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $441.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.99 EPS. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a $1.51 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.