IFP Advisors Inc Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 35.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,018 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 3,675 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 target price (up from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $419.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT traded up $1.23 on Thursday, hitting $428.82. 910,700 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,678,264. The business's 50 day moving average price is $373.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $350.94. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $429.57. The company has a market capitalization of $201.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.38. 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 (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.