LPL Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 3.3%, acquiring an additional 30,450 shares, bringing its total ownership to 940,372 shares valued at approximately $310.1 million.
• Caterpillar reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.25, which was below analysts' expectations of $4.35, along with a revenue of $14.25 billion, down 9.8% from the previous year.
• The company also announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.51 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.39% and a payout ratio of 29.43%.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 940,372 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,450 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Caterpillar worth $310,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays lifted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $419.33.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.2%

CAT stock traded up $5.27 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $439.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,511,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,678,471. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $441.15. The stock has a market cap of $206.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $382.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $353.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.43%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.