Brasada Capital Management LP Purchases New Shares in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Brasada Capital Management LP has acquired a new stake in Caterpillar Inc., purchasing 2,450 shares valued at approximately $808,000 in the first quarter.
• Analysts have provided positive outlooks for Caterpillar, with Barclays and Citigroup raising their target prices to $425.00 and $500.00, respectively.
• Caterpillar recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.41 to $1.51 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.4%.

Brasada Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,450 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $808,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,010 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,322,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,167 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 10,771 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,907,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit X LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Barclays raised their target price on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $455.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $419.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $412.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $360.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $441.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were paid 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 an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 30.72%.

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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