Palmer Knight Co Invests $13.24 Million in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Palmer Knight Co acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 12,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,240,000. Caterpillar makes up approximately 5.1% of Palmer Knight Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in Caterpillar by 108.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.9% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,147 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,551,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 6.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 572,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $222,120,000 after buying an additional 34,846 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE CAT opened at $797.72 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $410.52 and a 1 year high of $1,073.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $366.69 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50-day moving average is $889.47 and its 200 day moving average is $838.20.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $1.95. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 55.53% and a net margin of 14.51%.The business had revenue of $20.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.72 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Key Headlines Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: July durable-goods orders rose 1.1%, suggesting a manufacturing rebound that could support demand for Caterpillar’s construction, mining and industrial equipment. CAT was identified as one of several industrial stocks positioned to benefit. 4 Industrial Stocks to Grab on Robust Jump in Durable Goods Orders
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank reportedly expects stronger earnings for Caterpillar, adding to the constructive analyst outlook surrounding the company. Erste Group Bank Predicts Stronger Earnings for Caterpillar
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar’s power-generation business is benefiting from rising electricity demand tied to data centers and artificial intelligence. Recent coverage points to a first-ever quarterly sales total above $20 billion and identifies power generation as an increasingly important growth engine. Forget the Industry Labels: Chevron and Caterpillar Are Both Betting on the AI Power Boom
• Positive Sentiment: The company is applying its autonomous-mining expertise to industrial AI deployment, including field-support tools such as the Cat AI Assistant. Caterpillar also committed $100 million to AI and robotics workforce training, which could improve productivity and strengthen its technology positioning. Caterpillar Commits $100 Million to AI and Robotics Training
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street’s average brokerage recommendation remains bullish, but the coverage notes that sell-side ratings are often overly optimistic and may have limited predictive value for CAT’s performance. Is Caterpillar a Buy as Wall Street Analysts Look Optimistic?
• Negative Sentiment: At a high earnings multiple, Caterpillar is increasingly being valued like a technology-growth company. That raises the risk of pressure on the stock if AI-related growth, power-equipment demand or earnings forecasts fail to exceed expectations. How AI Power Demand Transformed Caterpillar into a High-Multiple Tech Play

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $845.00 to $882.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Caterpillar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 price target on Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $995.52.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off?highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.