Ascent Group LLC Reduces Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ascent Group LLC cut its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 84 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded down $5.85 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $344.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,190,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,718,964. The company has a 50 day moving average of $336.58 and a 200 day moving average of $336.27. The stock has a market cap of $168.54 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month 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 the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders 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 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.46%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,863 shares of company stock valued at $8,837,714 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.