Oak Asset Management LLC Decreases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Oak Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LVW Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 52.9% during the first quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 2,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Business Bank raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 12.1% in the first quarter. Citizens Business Bank now owns 1,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 28.9% in the first quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $273,000. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 290.6% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,643,000 after acquiring an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was 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 directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $333.10 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $340.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $329.47. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a $1.41 dividend. This is an increase 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 1.69%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.