Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Makes New $9.63 Million Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise invested approximately $9.63 million in Caterpillar Inc. by acquiring 29,201 shares during the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including Geode Capital Management and Northern Trust Corp, have increased their stakes in Caterpillar, indicating strong institutional interest with 70.98% of the stock owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Caterpillar has raised its quarterly dividend from $1.41 to $1.51, reflecting its commitment to returning value to shareholders amidst a reported revenue decline of 9.8% year-over-year.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 29,201 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $9,631,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,790,841,000 after purchasing an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during 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 period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,429,416,000 after purchasing an additional 312,878 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,181,535 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,154,174,000 after purchasing an additional 82,579 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on CAT. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $419.33.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of CAT opened at $433.16 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The business's 50-day moving average price is $378.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $352.33. The stock has a market cap of $204.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $436.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 29.43%.

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 acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.

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