GAM Holding AG Purchases 589 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

GAM Holding AG boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.17.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $360.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $169.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $333.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $347.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.60 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.