Sweeney & Michel LLC Invests $512,000 in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sweeney & Michel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $512,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. BTG Pactual Global Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $950,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $2,743,000. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 60.8% in the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 10,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,891,000 after acquiring an additional 4,014 shares in the last quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 10,909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,997,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $2,272,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, 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 accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,863 shares of company stock valued at $8,837,714 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT traded down $2.87 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $341.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,969,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,713,790. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $335.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $337.00.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.63.

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.