WD Rutherford LLC Sells 65 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

WD Rutherford LLC trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. WD Rutherford LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $5.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $333.10. The company had a trading volume of 8,891,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,519,845. The company has a market capitalization of $162.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $340.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $328.57. 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.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.