Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Stock Holdings Lessened by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,192 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $46,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 140.0% in the fourth quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC now owns 60 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $905.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Argus increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $960.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $933.27.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $933.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $856.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $730.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $356.96 and a fifty-two week high of $946.83. The firm has a market cap of $429.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.59.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its 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 net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The firm had revenue of $17.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.06%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 5,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $883.03, for a total value of $4,982,055.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,789.82. The trade was a 37.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total transaction of $14,399,860.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,631,913.85. The trade was a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar 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.