Oakworth Capital Inc. Increases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 68.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $805,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $2,090,000. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $579,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 18.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $63,202,000 after buying an additional 30,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,688,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Truist Financial boosted 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. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price target (up from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson raised their price target on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $380.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.7%

CAT opened at $381.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The firm's fifty day moving average is $340.31 and its 200 day moving average is $346.48. The stock has a market cap of $179.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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