Chicago Capital LLC Acquires 795 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Chicago Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,934 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $362.21 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $328.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $347.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 29.43%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird raised Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $396.00 target price (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.