Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Position Boosted by Waverly Advisors LLC

Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 116.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 104,253 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,087 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $73,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 68,427.2% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,140,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,224,992,000 after buying an additional 3,136,020 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $1,225,317,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 573.1% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,504,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $861,947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,087 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,860,457,000 after acquiring an additional 928,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 8,359.6% in the fourth quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 513,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $294,314,000 after acquiring an additional 507,681 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,103.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $980.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Argus boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $980.57.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 46,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,210,388.80. This represents a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $889.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $409.57 billion, a PE ratio of 44.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $405.46 and a 1 year high of $1,073.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $928.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $804.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.45%.

About Caterpillar

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.