National Pension Service Grows Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) by 8.1% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.21% of the company, valued at $329 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Caterpillar, with ten analysts giving a buy rating, indicating positive growth expectations, while the average target price is set at $444.00.
• Caterpillar recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.51, reflecting the company's robust financial health, with a payout ratio of 30.72%.

National Pension Service increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 997,577 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 74,981 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.21% of Caterpillar worth $329,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $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 boosted its position in Caterpillar by 8.6% during the 4th 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 valued at $1,429,416,000 after acquiring an additional 312,878 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $1,230,239,000 after buying an additional 3,721,693 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after buying an additional 15,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 9.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,064,951,000 after acquiring an additional 268,300 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Melius raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $444.00.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock traded down $10.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $407.41. 3,105,803 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,761,650. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $441.15. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $399.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $356.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $190.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.99 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. 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 yield of 1.5%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.72%.

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.