Americana Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Americana Partners LLC grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CAT. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 price objective (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $336.31.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $4.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $356.10. The stock had a trading volume of 2,974,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,679,620. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $338.84 and its 200 day moving average is $342.55.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted 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. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a $1.41 dividend. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.46%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’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 directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction 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 approximately $5,347,825.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.