Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Acquired by TIAA Trust National Association

TIAA Trust National Association lifted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Trivium Point Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 132.9% in the second quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,037,000 after purchasing an additional 7,125 shares in the last quarter. Palmer Knight Co acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,884,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in Caterpillar by 11.2% during the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 14,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $427,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $578.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $478.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $410.02. The stock has a market cap of $270.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $502.00 to $557.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $729.00 target price (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $568.50.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 448,173 shares in the company, valued at $226,457,335.17. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.