Ignite Planners LLC Sells 1,251 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ignite Planners LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,251 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up approximately 0.8% of Ignite Planners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Ignite Planners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of Caterpillar 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CAT shares. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $327.13.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of CAT traded up $2.15 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $329.99. The stock had a trading volume of 2,447,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,676,952. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $342.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $327.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01.

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

Caterpillar declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

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.