Townsquare Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 1.8% during Q1, owning 34,895 shares worth $11.5 million at quarter-end.
• Caterpillar's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $4.72, below the expected $4.88, with a year-over-year revenue decline of 0.7% to $16.57 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, reflecting a positive increase from the previous $1.41, with a dividend yield of 1.5%.

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,895 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $11,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 2,701 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $782,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 10,788 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,913,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI cut 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 note on Monday, May 19th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $444.00.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock traded down $8.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $408.40. 3,415,993 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,969,034. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $441.15. 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 stock has a market cap of $191.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $394.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $355.11.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.99 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business 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 is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

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.