Balentine LLC Has $1.22 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Balentine LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 437.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,686 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Balentine LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,090,000. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $579,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $63,202,000 after purchasing an additional 30,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price target (up from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Melius upgraded 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $412.33.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded down $4.19 on Friday, hitting $413.88. 2,525,098 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,508,304. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $419.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $369.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $349.69.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.60 EPS. On average, research analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. 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.