Exchange Capital Management Inc. Has $372,000 Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Exchange Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,296,641,000 after buying an additional 129,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after buying an additional 96,479 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,408,481,000 after buying an additional 179,908 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after buying an additional 47,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,660,560,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $327.74 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $339.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $330.08. The company has a market capitalization of $160.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. 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 current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The business 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 expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved 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 buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued 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 yield of 1.72%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. HSBC raised their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.