BluePath Capital Management LLC Acquires 279 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

BluePath Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 23.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,660,560,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 28,603.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,417,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488,813 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 27,495.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,182,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $349,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,168 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,875,000 after acquiring an additional 529,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in Caterpillar by 5,293.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 482,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $142,620,000 after acquiring an additional 473,416 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $2.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $330.61. 1,351,168 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,706,595. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $338.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $330.08. The firm has a market cap of $161.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.48%.

Caterpillar announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired 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 owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.