McIlrath & Eck LLC Has $349,000 Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $1,062,000. Novem Group bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $630,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $309,000. Castleark Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,029.5% during the 4th quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 27,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,965,000 after acquiring an additional 26,180 shares during the period. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 92,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,683,000 after acquiring an additional 11,250 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 have weighed in on CAT. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $396.00 target price (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Six 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $349.01 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $164.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $318.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $353.54. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Profile

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.