Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Physicians Financial Services Inc.

Key Points

• Physicians Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 5.2%, now holding 19,334 shares worth approximately $6.38 million, making it the fund's 10th largest position.
• Several analysts upgraded their ratings and price targets for Caterpillar, with JPMorgan boosting its target from $395 to $475 and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Caterpillar announced a quarterly dividend increase, now set at $1.51 per share, elevating its annualized payment to $6.04, representing a yield of 1.39%.

Physicians Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,334 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises about 2.1% of Physicians Financial Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Physicians Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 1,536 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 13,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,828,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 701,866 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $254,784,000 after purchasing an additional 74,519 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $419.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $434.07 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $377.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $351.76. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $434.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.43%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.

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