Compass Capital Corp MA ADV Reduces Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Compass Capital Corp MA ADV reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 58.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,072 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,522 shares during the period. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $805,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $2,090,000. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of CAT stock traded up $2.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $362.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,263,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,543,771. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $170.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $332.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $347.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. This is an increase 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 presently 29.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI reduced 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 reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $396.00 target price (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $375.17.

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.