Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 125,429 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,218 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $41,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $371.63 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $175.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $346.61. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer raised 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. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $380.83.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by 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.