Keeler Thomas Management LLC Decreases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• Keeler Thomas Management LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 46.1% in the first quarter, now holding 8,323 shares valued at approximately $2.75 million.
• Analysts have upgraded Caterpillar's stock ratings, with several brokerage firms raising their target prices, including Truist Financial, which increased its target from $414.00 to $507.00.
• Caterpillar recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $1.41 to $1.51 per share, reflecting a 1.4% yield on an annualized basis.

Keeler Thomas Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 46.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,124 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up 1.3% of Keeler Thomas Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Keeler Thomas Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $444.00.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $0.69 on Friday, reaching $416.43. The stock had a trading volume of 2,965,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,924,406. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $441.15. The company has a market cap of $195.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The business's 50 day moving average is $393.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $355.76.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.99 EPS. The business's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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 issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. 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 1.5%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 30.72%.

About Caterpillar

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.