Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC Has $566,000 Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 140.3%, now holding shares valued at $566,000 after purchasing additional shares in Q1.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for CAT, with Bank of America setting a new target of $385.00, indicating strong market confidence in the stock.
• Caterpillar recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, which is an increase from the previous dividend, reflecting a positive outlook on its financial health.

Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 140.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,716 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the quarter. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $566,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 10,771 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,907,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Summit X LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 205 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $4.79 during trading on Thursday, reaching $438.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,778,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,680,808. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $441.15. The stock has a market cap of $206.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.38. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $382.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $353.44.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.43%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 target price (up previously from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group upgraded 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. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Melius upgraded 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. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $419.33.

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.