PGGM Investments Acquires 29,212 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 50.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 87,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,212 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $28,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 price objective (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $337.38.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:CAT traded down $1.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $337.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,610,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,730,814. The business’s 50 day moving average is $333.84 and its 200-day moving average is $339.98. The company has a market cap of $165.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.46%.

Caterpillar announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.