Moran Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 11.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,230 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,352 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $20,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 471 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 1,238 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. BBR Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 4,162 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,510,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 184 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $380.83.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded up $7.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $373.26. The company had a trading volume of 3,727,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,702,339. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $175.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $335.33 and a 200-day moving average of $346.24. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

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.