Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Stableford Capital II LLC

Stableford Capital II LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Stableford Capital II LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $7,396,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.6%

CAT stock opened at $359.73 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $169.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $332.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $347.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 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 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.92.

About Caterpillar

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.