International Assets Investment Management LLC Buys 944 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 17.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,385 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,980,629,000 after buying an additional 284,366 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after buying an additional 236,315 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,294,505,000 after purchasing an additional 129,143 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $2,184,364,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded down $1.39 on Wednesday, reaching $371.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,737,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,537,008. The company's fifty day moving average is $336.93 and its 200 day moving average is $346.43. 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 stock has a market cap of $175.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.60 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid 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 yield of 1.63%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 29.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $380.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar 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.