Addenda Capital Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Addenda Capital Inc. decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 73 shares during the quarter. Addenda Capital Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,310,000 after buying an additional 3,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $5.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $333.10. The stock had a trading volume of 8,891,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,719,476. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $340.31 and a 200-day moving average of $328.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $162.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company 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.