Hilltop Holdings Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Hilltop Holdings Inc. lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 26.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,909 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Lam Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Monetary Solutions Ltd bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CAT. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $1,125.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $1,043.00 to $1,218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. HSBC raised their target price on Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Caterpillar from $1,050.00 to $1,155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $980.57.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $889.23 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $928.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $804.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $405.46 and a 12 month 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 capitalization of $409.57 billion, a PE ratio of 44.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The company had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.45%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total value of $11,444,205.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 49,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,236,615.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 86,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.