Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by NBC Securities Inc.

NBC Securities Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,393 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 342 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $2.74 on Wednesday, reaching $325.14. The company had a trading volume of 3,275,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,106,831. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market cap of $159.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $345.85 and a 200-day moving average of $325.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.35.

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.