Leavell Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,296,641,000 after acquiring an additional 129,216 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after acquiring an additional 96,479 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,408,481,000 after acquiring an additional 179,908 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,900,847,000 after acquiring an additional 111,384 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after acquiring an additional 47,258 shares during the period. 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 purchased 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. HSBC boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock traded down $5.24 on Thursday, reaching $350.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,698,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,473,414. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.60 and a 52 week high of $382.01. The company has a market capitalization of $171.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $356.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $313.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Caterpillar Company 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.