Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Burney Co.

Burney Co. reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 29.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,769 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,420 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,844,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Juno Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $877,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $1,226,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $4,517,000. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 116,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,630,000 after buying an additional 18,676 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $906.00, for a total transaction of $326,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $480,180. This trade represents a 40.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total transaction of $11,444,205.55. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares in the company, valued at $45,236,615.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 target price on Caterpillar and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Williams Trading set a $825.00 price objective on Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $949.41.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $969.88 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $388.09 and a one year high of $1,073.46. The stock has a market cap of $446.72 billion, a PE ratio of 48.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $921.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $772.97.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.