Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Little House Capital LLC

Little House Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 23.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,420 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,648 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $4.64 on Monday, reaching $328.46. 1,787,520 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,712,823. The business’s 50-day moving average is $340.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $329.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program 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 purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

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.