First Trust Advisors LP Has $108.44 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 40.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 153,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 103,684 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $108,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 68,427.2% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,140,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,224,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,136,020 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,225,317,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 573.1% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,504,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $861,947,000 after buying an additional 1,281,087 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,860,457,000 after acquiring an additional 928,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 8,359.6% during the 4th quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 513,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $294,314,000 after acquiring an additional 507,681 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total transaction of $11,444,205.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 49,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,236,615.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total transaction of $14,399,860.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at $48,631,913.85. This trade represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $889.23 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $405.46 and a 1-year high of $1,073.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $409.57 billion, a PE ratio of 44.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $928.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $804.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The company had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 32.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $1,020.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $980.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $790.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $1,043.00 to $1,218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $980.57.

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.