Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Has $29.67 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 5.0%, owning 89,981 shares valued at approximately $29.67 million after acquiring an additional 4,321 shares.
• Caterpillar recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, up from $1.41, representing an annualized dividend of $6.04 and a yield of 1.39%.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Caterpillar, with notable upgrades from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to $475.00 and from Oppenheimer to $483.00, reflecting a generally optimistic outlook.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,981 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,321 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $29,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 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 purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 target price (up from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $419.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $5.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $435.80. 1,093,626 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,672,469. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $436.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $380.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $352.87. 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 company has a market cap of $205.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for 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 firm's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.43%.

Caterpillar Company 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.