Caterpillar Inc. $CAT is Bollard Group LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Bollard Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 229,052 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 28,562 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises about 4.8% of Bollard Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Bollard Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $162,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $26,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Monetary Solutions Ltd bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $889.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $928.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $804.12. The firm has a market cap of $409.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.26, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $405.46 and a 1 year high of $1,073.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. The firm had revenue of $17.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 32.45%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total transaction of $14,399,860.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at $48,631,913.85. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total value of $11,444,205.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,236,615.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. DA Davidson upped their price target on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,103.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $980.57.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.