Princeton Capital Management LLC Has $1.66 Million Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Princeton Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,973 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 66 shares during the period. Princeton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 10th. Raymond James began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.3 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $356.10 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $342.94. The company has a market cap of $174.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.55 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by 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.