Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 17.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Carrera Capital Advisors raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 1,238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. BBR Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 4,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Six equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.67.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $366.65 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $335.33 and its 200-day moving average is $346.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Caterpillar Company 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.