WD Rutherford LLC Lowers Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

WD Rutherford LLC cut its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. WD Rutherford LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,660,560,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $4,417,360,000 after buying an additional 1,488,813 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 27,495.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,182,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $349,616,000 after buying an additional 1,178,168 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,875,000 after buying an additional 529,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5,293.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 482,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $142,620,000 after buying an additional 473,416 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.7 %

Caterpillar stock traded up $5.64 during trading hours 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 stock has a market cap of $162.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $340.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $328.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for 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%. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 30th. 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 report on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the business’s 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 purchase, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.