E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Increases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 18.1%, acquiring an additional 950 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 6,210 shares valued at approximately $2.05 million.
• Caterpillar announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.51 per share, up from $1.41, representing an annualized dividend of $6.04 with a dividend yield of 1.5%.
• Despite reporting a miss in earnings with $4.72 EPS compared to the consensus estimate of $4.88, Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was $16.57 billion, exceeding expectations of $16.14 billion.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 18.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,210 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,723.1% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $466,430,000 after buying an additional 1,364,183 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth approximately $391,788,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,060,730,000 after buying an additional 1,196,861 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in 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 buying an additional 724,477 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $444.00.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded down $10.09 on Friday, reaching $407.41. 3,105,803 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,164,488. The company's 50-day moving average price is $399.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $355.92. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $441.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Caterpillar

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.