HighTower Advisors LLC Has $213.12 Million Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC sold 7,731 shares of Caterpillar Inc., reducing its stake by 1.2%, bringing its ownership to 646,194 shares valued at approximately $213.1 million.
• Caterpillar recently reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' expectations and showing a 0.7% decline in quarterly revenue year-over-year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $1.41 to $1.51 per share, reflecting a yield of 1.5% and a payout ratio of 30.72%.

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 646,194 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,731 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Caterpillar worth $213,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trajan Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 15,207 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,015,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040 shares during the period. Gouws Capital LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Gouws Capital LLC now owns 14,990 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,944,000 after buying an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 64,469 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $21,262,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Eagle Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 32,022 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,880 shares during the period. Finally, PCG Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. PCG Asset Management LLC now owns 920 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $444.00.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock traded up $3.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $417.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,673,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,759,396. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $441.15. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $398.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $356.06.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%. The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.99 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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.