Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 299 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Altiora Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $219,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saxon Interests Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 323.9% during the first quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 3,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.9 %

CAT stock traded up $2.85 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $330.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,351,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,706,586. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $339.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $330.08. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market cap of $161.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.