Abacus Planning Group Inc. Purchases 251 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 10,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,919,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 10th. Two equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.31.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the sale, 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. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $356.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $172.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $338.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $342.75.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.55 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 22nd. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.46%.

Caterpillar declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.