Morse Asset Management Inc Increases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,863 shares of company stock worth $8,837,714 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $6.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $350.48. 1,894,930 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,951,150. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $171.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $336.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $336.27.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.61 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

About Caterpillar

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.