Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Position Raised by Atria Investments Inc

Key Points

• Atria Investments Inc increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. by 3.6% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 1,092 shares, bringing their total to 31,833 shares valued at approximately $10.5 million.
• Caterpillar recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.51, resulting in an annualized dividend of $6.04 and a yield of 1.39%, up from the previous dividend of $1.41.
• The company's stock has shown strong performance with a 52-week range between $267.30 and $434.87, and it recently traded at $434.07 during midday trading.

Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,833 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $10,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $4.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $434.07. 2,207,764 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,516,496. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $377.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $351.88. The firm has a market cap of $204.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $434.87.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price target (up previously from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $419.33.

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.