MQS Management LLC Invests $464,000 in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,407 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $464,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 248,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $90,163,000 after buying an additional 18,041 shares during the period. Finally, one8zero8 LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $663,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $405.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,497,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,700,815. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $360.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $347.92.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price 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. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius Research upgraded shares of 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. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $406.47.

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.