Caterpillar Inc. $CAT is MWA Asset Management’s Largest Position

MWA Asset Management reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 926 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up 4.0% of MWA Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. MWA Asset Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lam Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. DA Davidson increased their target price on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $980.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total transaction of $14,399,860.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at $48,631,913.85. The trade was a 22.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total value of $11,444,205.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares in the company, valued at $45,236,615.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of CAT opened at $864.72 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $930.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $796.99. The company has a market cap of $398.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $405.46 and a twelve month high of $1,073.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly 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. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The firm had revenue of $17.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.06%.

Caterpillar Profile

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.