Corundum Group Inc. Purchases 3,685 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Corundum Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 187.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,685 shares during the quarter. Corundum Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $337.38.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock traded up $8.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $345.72. The stock had a trading volume of 3,232,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,734,014. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $334.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $340.02. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $382.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is a boost 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 dividend yield of 1.63%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

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

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.