Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,493 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,973 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DeDora Capital Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 149.7% during the 1st quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 328,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $108,402,000 after acquiring an additional 197,000 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 7.9% in the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 9,025 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,976,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the first quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 34,465 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,366,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Advisors raised its stake in Caterpillar by 63.8% during the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 15,127 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,989,000 after purchasing an additional 5,891 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $419.33.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE CAT traded up $1.99 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $429.58. The company had a trading volume of 2,499,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,519,682. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $430.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $373.81 and a 200 day moving average of $350.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. Caterpillar's revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 29.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.