Transform Wealth LLC Sells 6,398 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Transform Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 45.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,398 shares during the period. Transform Wealth LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after purchasing an additional 129,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,583,372,000 after acquiring an additional 96,479 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 179,908 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 47,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,660,560,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT traded up $4.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $332.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,215,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,657,624. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The firm has a market cap of $162.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $340.74 and a 200-day moving average of $328.07. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during 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%. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating 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 a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.