Horizon Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Horizon Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 136 shares during the quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LVW Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 52.9% in the first quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 2,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Business Bank increased its stake in Caterpillar by 12.1% in the first quarter. Citizens Business Bank now owns 1,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $273,000. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 290.6% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE CAT traded down $3.80 on Monday, reaching $329.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,678,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,711,953. The firm has a market cap of $161.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day moving average of $340.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $329.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly 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. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

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.