Aventail Capital Group LP Acquires 21,302 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Aventail Capital Group LP boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 48.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 21,302 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up about 2.2% of Aventail Capital Group LP’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Aventail Capital Group LP’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $37,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 108.5% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,147 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 572,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $222,120,000 after buying an additional 34,846 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $955.17 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $865.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $735.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $356.96 and a 1 year high of $975.64. The company has a market cap of $439.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.54, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.59.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The firm had revenue of $17.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.62 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. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

Key Stories Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Caterpillar to $1,165 from $1,125 and kept an “overweight” rating, signaling continued confidence in the stock’s upside. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Articles highlighted Caterpillar as a blue-chip stock to own, helped by bullish market momentum as the Dow reached a new milestone. Zacks
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar recently increased its dividend, reinforcing management’s confidence in cash generation and making the stock more attractive to income investors. Yahoo Finance
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage also pointed to Caterpillar’s improving growth story, including a large AI-related backlog and rising demand in its power generation business, which supports a stronger long-term outlook. Yahoo Finance
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market recap pieces noted Caterpillar’s gains were helping lift the Dow to record highs, but these articles were more about broad index performance than a new company-specific catalyst. MSN

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 86,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,397,884.68. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 5,642 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $883.03, for a total transaction of $4,982,055.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,594 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,789.82. This represents a 37.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer set a $980.00 target price on Caterpillar and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $1,125.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Caterpillar from $960.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. HSBC lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,103.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $935.09.

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.