WoodTrust Financial Corp Sells 444 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

WoodTrust Financial Corp reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 44.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 444 shares during the quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Opinicus Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $250,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 18,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,957,000 after buying an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 98.7% during the first quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 25,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,283,000 after acquiring an additional 12,585 shares during the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 11.2% in the first quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 9,869 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,616,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. HSBC lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.7 %

CAT traded up $5.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $333.10. 8,891,479 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,519,845. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $382.01. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $162.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $340.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $328.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Caterpillar announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.