Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 188,272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 9,512 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for 1.0% of Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $200,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 440.0% in the 2nd quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 93.8% in the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 31 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Lam Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Ramsey Quantitative Systems purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.2%

NYSE CAT opened at $883.90 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $405.46 and a 52 week high of $1,073.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $914.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $829.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $406.30 billion, a PE ratio of 38.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $1.95. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.51% and a return on equity of 55.53%. The company had revenue of $20.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.72 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 26.56 EPS for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $1,002.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial set a $980.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $1,125.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 target price on Caterpillar and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $995.52.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.