Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Sells 81,276 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 53.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 81,276 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $49,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Monetary Solutions Ltd purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $1,125.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research cut Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 price target on Caterpillar and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $980.57.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of CAT opened at $889.23 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $405.46 and a fifty-two week high of $1,073.46. The firm has a market cap of $409.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.26, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $928.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $804.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total transaction of $11,444,205.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares in the company, valued at $45,236,615.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $906.00, for a total value of $326,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $480,180. The trade was a 40.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.