Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 8,574 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 54.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,360 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,574 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of CAT opened at $359.73 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $331.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $347.71. The stock has a market cap of $169.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.60 EPS. The company's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.92.

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.

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