892 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Acquired by S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $1,660,560,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 28,603.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,417,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488,813 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 27,495.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,182,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $349,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,168 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $947,875,000 after acquiring an additional 529,420 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 5,293.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 482,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $142,620,000 after purchasing an additional 473,416 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HSBC upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’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 value of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $5.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $333.10. The stock had a trading volume of 8,891,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,519,845. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $340.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $328.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The company has a market cap of $162.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.