Catalina Capital Group LLC Buys 1,030 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 84.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $822,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 5,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 45.6% in the 1st quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $29,031,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Callan Capital LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $2.33 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $328.39. 2,904,385 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,692,612. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $337.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $331.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.60 billion, a PE ratio of 14.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.