Sei Investments Co. Has $41.90 Million Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,121 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $41,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 10,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,919,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Exchange Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $10.18 on Monday, reaching $345.77. The company had a trading volume of 3,392,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,698,453. The firm has a market cap of $169.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $337.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $332.24. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 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 return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. As a group, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale 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.