PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Grows Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. by 3.4%, owning approximately $140 million worth of the company's stock after acquiring 13,890 additional shares.
• Caterpillar reported earnings of $4.25 per share, falling short of analysts’ expectations, with quarterly revenue declining by 9.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend increase from $1.41 to $1.51 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders despite recent performance challenges.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 424,640 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,890 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Caterpillar worth $140,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,429,416,000 after purchasing an additional 312,878 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,181,535 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,154,174,000 after purchasing an additional 82,579 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,991,403 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,085,161,000 after buying an additional 9,212 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $5.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $428.57. 1,590,020 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,705,885. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $387.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $354.37. The company has a market cap of $201.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $441.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.99 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 29.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $419.33.

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.