Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC Reduces Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,296,641,000 after acquiring an additional 129,216 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position 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 position 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. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after acquiring an additional 47,258 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,660,560,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were 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 $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased 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 owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT traded down $3.64 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $329.46. 1,513,324 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,710,629. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $340.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $329.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 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 the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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 dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in 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 price objective for the company. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.