Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. has increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 1.5% after purchasing 15,687 shares, bringing its total ownership to over 1 million shares valued at $342 million.
• Insider transactions revealed that both Director Susan C. Schwab and insider Jason Kaiser sold shares recently, with Schwab reducing her position by 25.15% and Kaiser by 20.02%.
• Caterpillar has recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $1.51, representing an annualized rate of $6.04 and a yield of 1.4%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,038,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,687 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.22% of Caterpillar worth $342,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in 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 worth $1,230,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721,693 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 2,723.1% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $466,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,183 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $391,788,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Caterpillar by 11.8% in 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 period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 8.6% in 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 during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $1.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $433.17. 1,970,924 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,771,515. The company has a market cap of $202.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $441.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm's fifty day moving average is $410.05 and its 200 day moving average is $359.24.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 30.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Robert W. Baird increased 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, June 20th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $450.87.

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.