Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Position Increased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 1.0%, now holding 438,960 shares worth approximately $144.8 million.
• Several institutional investors made significant increases to their positions in Caterpillar, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which raised its holdings by 43,447.3%.
• Caterpillar's recent earnings report showed $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing estimates, with revenues down 9.8% year-over-year.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 438,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.09% of Caterpillar worth $144,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,723.1% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $466,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,183 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings 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 worth $1,060,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,861 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1,278.6% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 440,641 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $154,367,000 after purchasing an additional 408,678 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $419.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $428.85 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $385.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $354.22. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $441.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.43%.

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.

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