CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp Grows Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 119 shares during the quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $327.13.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of CAT stock traded down $1.29 on Friday, reaching $327.84. 8,265,206 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,159,043. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $343.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $326.10. The stock has a market cap of $160.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14. 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 one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.48%.

Caterpillar announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.