Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CAT. Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research 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 data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, 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 in the company, valued at $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $356.10 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $338.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $342.94. 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 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 return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.87 EPS for the current 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 is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.46%.

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

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.