KFA Private Wealth Group LLC Purchases 813 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• KFA Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 57.9% during Q1, holding shares valued at $731,000 after acquiring additional shares.
• Several hedge funds made significant changes to their positions in Caterpillar, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing holdings by a staggering 43,447.3%, now owning shares worth $1.23 billion.
• Caterpillar declared a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous $1.41 dividend, with a current yield of 1.39%.

KFA Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 57.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,216 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 813 shares during the quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 1,536 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 13,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,828,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 701,866 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $254,784,000 after purchasing an additional 74,519 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Seven 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $419.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded up $4.75 on Thursday, reaching $438.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,778,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,680,808. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $441.15. The company has a market capitalization of $206.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $382.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $353.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.60 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.