Arkadios Wealth Advisors Has $4.16 Million Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• Arkadios Wealth Advisors has significantly increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. by 96.2% in the first quarter, owning 12,621 shares valued at approximately $4.16 million.
• Several equities analysts have upgraded their ratings on Caterpillar, with target prices ranging from $283.00 to $475.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Caterpillar is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, increasing from its previous dividend of $1.41, thereby maintaining a dividend yield of 1.39%.

Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 96.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,621 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,187 shares during the quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors' holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,230,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721,693 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2,723.1% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $466,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,183 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,060,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,861 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1,278.6% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 440,641 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $154,367,000 after purchasing an additional 408,678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $419.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded down $9.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $428.85. The stock had a trading volume of 4,027,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,534,010. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $441.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $385.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $354.36. The company has a market capitalization of $202.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 29.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Company 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.