Insider Selling: Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Insider Sells 2,975 Shares of Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $2.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $344.86. 932,139 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,698,423. The business has a 50 day moving average of $335.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $341.31. 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 company has a market capitalization of $168.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.55 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 22nd. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.46%.

Caterpillar announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,296,641,000 after purchasing an additional 129,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after purchasing an additional 96,479 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,481,000 after purchasing an additional 179,908 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $1,660,560,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,582,000 after buying an additional 75,973 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.31.

About Caterpillar

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.