Venture Visionary Partners LLC Acquires 1,589 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

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Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,888 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,589 shares during the quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $10,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Credit Agricole S A increased its position in Caterpillar by 111.8% during the first quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 179,864 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $59,319,000 after buying an additional 94,934 shares during the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its position in Caterpillar by 3.7% during the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 30,955 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,220,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in Caterpillar by 6.3% during the first quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 21,678 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,147,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. increased its position in Caterpillar by 2.7% during the first quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 51,947 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $17,132,000 after buying an additional 1,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA increased its position in Caterpillar by 11.4% during the first quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 3,915 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,269,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CAT. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $450.87.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $3.1660 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $417.4240. The company had a trading volume of 2,503,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,369,311. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $404.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $357.31. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $441.15. The firm has a market cap of $195.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its 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 net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 30.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.