SouthState Corp Buys 987 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

SouthState Corp grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 33.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Victrix Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,090,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after purchasing an additional 15,347 shares during the period. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,202,000 after purchasing an additional 30,070 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 22,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,483,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2%

Caterpillar stock opened at $416.43 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $195.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $393.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $355.11. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $441.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $444.00.

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.