First Foundation Advisors Decreases Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

First Foundation Advisors trimmed its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 232 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $9,631,000. FSA Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 24.9% during the first quarter. FSA Advisors Inc. now owns 1,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 56.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 23,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,701,000 after buying an additional 8,379 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 7.7% in the first quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 49.0% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $429.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $380.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $352.87. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $436.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $202.51 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 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 analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $419.33.

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.