Vista Investment Partners II LLC Has $2.51 Million Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,622 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up about 1.4% of Vista Investment Partners II LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Vista Investment Partners II LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors grew its position in Caterpillar by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 1,238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. BBR Partners LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 4,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Six investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $380.83.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $385.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $342.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $346.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $181.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Company 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.