Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Trinity Financial Advisors LLC

Trinity Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 252.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,292 shares during the period. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,980,629,000 after buying an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,790,841,000 after acquiring an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after acquiring an additional 129,143 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,184,364,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.92.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $358.70 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $322.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $349.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $168.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

Caterpillar 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.