Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by CFM Wealth Partners LLC

CFM Wealth Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. CFM Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CAT. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $326.73. 2,138,272 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,675,510. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $341.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $328.08. The stock has a market cap of $159.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.48%.

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.