WD Rutherford LLC Cuts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

WD Rutherford LLC lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. WD Rutherford LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $362.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $170.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $328.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $347.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 29.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $396.00 price objective (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.92.

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.