Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Invesco LLC

Invesco LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 57.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,121 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the quarter. Invesco LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $380.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded down $1.39 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $371.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,737,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,537,008. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company's 50-day moving average price is $336.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $346.43.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 29.43%.

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.