Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 1,200 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE CAT traded up $0.78 during trading on Thursday, hitting $327.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,994,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,670,109. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $382.01. The company has a market cap of $160.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average is $340.74 and its 200-day moving average is $328.07.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued 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 yield of 1.72%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.48%.

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.