First Affirmative Financial Network Trims Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

First Affirmative Financial Network trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Caterpillar by 7.4% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fragasso Group Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 5.0% during the first quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $327.13.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $327.84 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $343.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $326.60. The stock has a market cap of $160.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $382.01. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last released 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 business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.