Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Ballast Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Ballast Advisors LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc., selling 2,000 shares to own just 701 shares, a decrease of 74.0%, valued at $231,000.
• GAMMA Investing LLC made a massive 43,447.3% increase in its holdings, now owning 3,730,259 shares, reflecting strong interest from institutional investors.
• Caterpillar's quarterly dividend is set to increase from $1.41 to $1.51 per share, with the annualized dividend yield now at 1.39%.

Ballast Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 74.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 701 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Texas Yale Capital Corp. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 12.2% in the first quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 4,112 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,356,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,350 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 275,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $90,820,000 after acquiring an additional 12,352 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.5% during the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 1,948 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.3% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 17,705 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,839,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $4.79 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $438.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,778,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,680,808. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $382.09 and a 200-day moving average of $353.44. 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 $206.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $441.15.

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 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 company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America increased their target price on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Seven research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $419.33.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.