Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Acquires Shares of 29,201 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 29,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,631,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $419.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $433.16 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $378.63 and a 200 day moving average of $352.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $436.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market cap of $204.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.60 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 29.43%.

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.