Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Makes New $679,000 Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $679,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,660,560,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 27,495.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,182,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $349,616,000 after buying an additional 1,178,168 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,875,000 after purchasing an additional 529,420 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Caterpillar by 5,293.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 482,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $142,620,000 after acquiring an additional 473,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 306.9% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,385,000 after purchasing an additional 307,479 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $342.31. 193,195 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,698,040. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $335.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $341.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.55 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 EPS for the current year.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. HSBC raised their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.31.

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.