Hexagon Capital Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Hexagon Capital Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 16.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 448 shares during the quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after acquiring an additional 129,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,583,372,000 after purchasing an additional 96,479 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,481,000 after purchasing an additional 179,908 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,660,560,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired 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 approximately $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2 %

CAT stock traded down $4.02 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $329.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,941,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,722,123. The company has a market cap of $160.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $339.74 and its 200-day moving average is $329.78. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 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.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

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.