Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 34.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,136 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,653 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Truist Financial raised their target price on Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up previously from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $406.47.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded down $0.02 on Monday, reaching $405.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,497,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,700,815. The company has a market capitalization of $191.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $360.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $347.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 29.43%.

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.