Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Stock Holdings Lifted by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 7.1%, holding 21,148 shares worth approximately $8.21 million by the end of the last reporting period.
• Several institutions, including Valeo Financial Advisors LLC and Pacer Advisors Inc., significantly boosted their holdings in Caterpillar, showing strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Caterpillar shares, with Citigroup and Jefferies both increasing their targets to $570, reflecting positive sentiment toward the company's future performance.

Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 7.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,148 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 2,723.1% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $466,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,183 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $391,788,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 546.6% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $327,297,000 after purchasing an additional 712,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,064,951,000 after buying an additional 268,300 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $507.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $518.19.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $513.70 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $544.99. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $460.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $394.97. The firm has a market cap of $240.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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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