Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by USA Financial Formulas

USA Financial Formulas reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 31.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 241 shares during the quarter. USA Financial Formulas’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $363.09 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $323.77 and a 200 day moving average of $349.29. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The business’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Robert W. Baird raised Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $396.00 target price (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $372.92.

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.