Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Franklin Resources increased its Caterpillar stake by 70.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 873,720 shares valued at about $500.5 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive: Caterpillar has 16 Buy ratings and 9 Hold ratings, with an average target price of $933.27 after several analysts raised their price targets.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.54 and revenue of $17.42 billion, both above expectations; Caterpillar also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 70.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 873,720 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 360,223 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Caterpillar worth $500,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 140.0% during the fourth quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC now owns 60 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Williams Trading set a $825.00 price objective on Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,103.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $905.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $933.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $906.00, for a total value of $326,160.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 530 shares in the company, valued at $480,180. This represents a 40.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. This trade represents a 21.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.2%

CAT opened at $915.27 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $353.92 and a 52 week high of $946.83. The stock has a market cap of $421.57 billion, a PE ratio of 45.56, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $836.25 and a 200-day moving average of $718.16.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The business had revenue of $17.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company's product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

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