Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Holdings Lifted by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,416,464 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,559 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.30% of Caterpillar worth $467,150,000 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 CAT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $1,230,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721,693 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,060,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,861 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $353,231,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CAT. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $380.83.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded up $3.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $385.18. 4,445,249 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,521,036. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $181.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $342.13 and a 200 day moving average of $346.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.57%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

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.