Kanawha Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,110 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,601,000 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. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,790,841,000 after buying an additional 236,315 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,184,364,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,429,416,000 after acquiring an additional 312,878 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Thursday, reaching $398.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,025,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,517,128. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $348.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $346.65. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $187.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company 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 is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $380.83.

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.