Inspire Advisors LLC Has $2.75 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 22.0% in the first quarter, now holding 8,350 shares valued at approximately $2.75 million.
• Caterpillar recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.51 per share, up from $1.41, reflecting a 1.39% dividend yield.
• The company reported earnings of $4.25 per share for its last quarter, missing estimates, with a revenue of $14.25 billion, down 9.8% year-over-year.

Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 22.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,350 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $5.87 on Wednesday, hitting $435.92. 1,181,265 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,672,469. The company's 50 day moving average price is $380.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $352.87. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $436.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.60 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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 given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 29.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $419.33.

Caterpillar Company 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.