Counterweight Ventures LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Counterweight Ventures LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Counterweight Ventures LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. The transaction 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 stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was 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 owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $329.36 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $339.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $343.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.07 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a $1.41 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

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.