Shepherd Street Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Shepherd Street Advisors LLC opened a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter, buying 2,422 shares worth about $1.39 million. The stock now represents roughly 1.3% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Several analysts turned more positive on Caterpillar, with price targets raised by firms including JPMorgan, Truist, and Barclays. The stock currently has a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $933.27.
• Caterpillar reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.54 versus estimates of $4.65 and revenue of $17.42 billion, up 22.2% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, though insiders recently sold shares, including major sales by a top executive and the CFO.

Shepherd Street Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,422 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,387,000. Caterpillar makes up about 1.3% of Shepherd Street Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Plancorp LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. KDT Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 657 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Cove Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $733,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $860.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial set a $1,043.00 price target on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $933.27.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total transaction of $11,444,205.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,236,615.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,631,913.85. This trade represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 98,273 shares of company stock valued at $89,439,960. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 5.2%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $910.03 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $814.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $705.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $344.92 and a 52-week high of $931.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $419.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.30, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The firm had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company's product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

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