Naviter Wealth LLC Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Naviter Wealth LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT – Free Report) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,294,505,000 after acquiring an additional 129,143 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,184,364,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $420.00 price target (up from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $380.83.

View Our Latest Research Report on Caterpillar

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $385.18 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $342.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $346.17. The company has a market cap of $181.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) 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 net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.60 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Caterpillar Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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