First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Raises Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 13.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,770 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on CAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have given 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 $329.63.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $2.85 on Thursday, hitting $330.61. 1,352,181 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,422,689. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $161.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $338.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $330.08. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $382.01.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company 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.