Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC Sells 115 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 156.2% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 27,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,476,000 after purchasing an additional 16,694 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 167.9% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 310,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,805,000 after acquiring an additional 194,700 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $860,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the period. EHP Funds Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 71.2% during the third quarter. EHP Funds Inc. now owns 3,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 158.1% during the third quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 4,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 2,954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $2.85 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $330.61. 1,352,181 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,422,689. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $338.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $330.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $161.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.