Rational Advisors Inc. Acquires 882 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Rational Advisors Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 52.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,557 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 882 shares during the quarter. Rational Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,060,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,861 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings 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 worth $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1,278.6% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 440,641 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $154,367,000 after purchasing an additional 408,678 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6%

CAT traded down $2.60 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $405.73. 2,072,409 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,530,096. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The stock's 50-day moving average is $360.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $348.19. The stock has a market cap of $191.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $404.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Company 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.