First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,930 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,769 shares of company stock worth $11,508,906 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock traded down $3.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $331.07. The company had a trading volume of 3,511,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,525,907. The company has a market capitalization of $165.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.60 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $351.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.22.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

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.