Castellan Group Invests $677,000 in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• Castellan Group has invested approximately $677,000 to acquire 2,052 shares of Caterpillar Inc. during the first quarter, reflecting growing interest among institutional investors.
• Analysts have shown a positive outlook on Caterpillar's stock, with a range of target prices recently upgraded, including Citigroup's revised target of $420.00 and Melius Research setting a target of $500.00.
• Caterpillar has announced a dividend increase to $1.51 per share, up from $1.41, marking an annualized yield of 1.4% and reflecting the company's strong dividend payout strategy.

Castellan Group acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,052 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $677,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 target price (up from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $419.33.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $438.19 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $441.15. The firm has a market cap of $206.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $383.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $353.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given 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 a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 29.43%.

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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