Trinity Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Trinity Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 252.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,292 shares during the quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the period. Victrix Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $2,090,000. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 34,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,637,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. Finally, MFG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,308,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on CAT. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. DA Davidson upped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.92.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $358.70 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $168.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $322.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $349.19.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

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.