Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Sells 230 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,660,560,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 27,495.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,182,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $349,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,168 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $947,875,000 after acquiring an additional 529,420 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 5,293.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 482,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $142,620,000 after purchasing an additional 473,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Caterpillar by 306.9% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,385,000 after buying an additional 307,479 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $343.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $335.11 and a 200-day moving average of $341.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.46%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HSBC upped their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 10th. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.31.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Caterpillar

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.