Sowell Financial Services LLC Increases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 20.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,525 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $396.00 price objective (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.92.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $356.79 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $168.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $327.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $347.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.43%.

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.

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