Highland Capital Management LLC Acquires 1,967 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,967 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% in 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 buying an additional 129,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after acquiring an additional 96,479 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,408,481,000 after acquiring an additional 179,908 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,660,560,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,875,000 after acquiring an additional 529,420 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 10th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,991 shares of company stock valued at $2,059,398. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded up $6.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $348.41. 2,183,912 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,706,098. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $336.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $341.75. The company has a market cap of $170.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.46%.

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

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.