Duality Advisers LP Grows Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Duality Advisers LP boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 117.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,666 shares during the quarter. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $5.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $336.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,422,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,685,503. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The firm has a market cap of $164.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $331.43.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm 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%. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares 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. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CAT. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Company 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.