Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Purchases 642 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $37,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of CAT traded up $1.99 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $429.58. 2,499,626 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,519,682. The firm has a market cap of $202.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $430.16. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $375.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $351.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price objective (up previously from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $419.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the acquisition, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.