Exchange Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Exchange Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,856,000 after buying an additional 9,974 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 156.2% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 27,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,476,000 after acquiring an additional 16,694 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 167.9% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 310,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,805,000 after acquiring an additional 194,700 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EHP Funds Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter. EHP Funds Inc. now owns 3,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $327.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $160.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $339.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $330.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.