Federated Hermes Inc. Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 175,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 8,102 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $51,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 272.4% during the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 730.8% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.56.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $354.68 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.04 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $346.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.78. The firm has a market cap of $177.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.86 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.82%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.