Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Davis R M Inc.

Davis R M Inc. lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 82 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Waterway Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $352,000. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 20.0% during 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. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,270,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 136,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,289,000 after acquiring an additional 2,650 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $3.97 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $343.90. 999,155 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,716,356. The business’s fifty day moving average is $337.57 and its 200-day moving average is $334.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,863 shares of company stock worth $8,837,714. 0.33% of the stock is currently 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.