L & S Advisors Inc Makes New $4.11 Million Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• L & S Advisors Inc invested approximately $4.11 million in Caterpillar Inc., acquiring 12,473 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have raised target prices for Caterpillar's stock, with Oppenheimer setting the highest target at $483.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook.
• Caterpillar recently declared an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.51 per share, demonstrating a 1.4% dividend yield.

L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,473 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $4,113,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Caterpillar by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 8.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 312,878 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,181,535 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,154,174,000 after purchasing an additional 82,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,991,403 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,085,161,000 after purchasing an additional 9,212 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. DA Davidson raised their target price on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays raised their target price on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $419.33.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $428.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $385.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $354.22. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $441.15. The company has a market cap of $202.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.43%.

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.

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