Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Holdings Lowered by Little House Capital LLC

Little House Capital LLC decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 23.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,420 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,648 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. 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 research report on Friday, April 26th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT traded down $4.64 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $328.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,787,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,712,823. 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 company has a market capitalization of $160.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $340.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $329.47.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.