Trajan Wealth LLC Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• Trajan Wealth LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 15.5%, owning a total of 15,207 shares valued at approximately $5,015,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Caterpillar Inc. reported $4.72 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations of $4.88, while revenue was $16.57 billion, slightly above expected figures.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.51 per share, up from $1.41, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 1.5%.

Trajan Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,207 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,040 shares during the period. Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $444.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded up $3.70 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $417.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,673,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,759,396. The business's 50-day moving average price is $398.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $356.06. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $441.15. The stock has a market cap of $195.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%. The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.72%.

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.