Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 626,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,699 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $208,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Raymond James began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 price objective (up previously from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $333.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $339.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $343.18. The company has a market capitalization of $163.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results 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. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Caterpillar declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.