Sei Investments Co. Increases Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 19.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 209,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,517 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $148,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Monetary Solutions Ltd acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $1,125.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $980.57.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $893.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $411.32 billion, a PE ratio of 44.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $928.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $803.52. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $405.46 and a 1 year high of $1,073.46.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $17.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 5,642 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $883.03, for a total transaction of $4,982,055.26. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,594 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,789.82. This trade represents a 37.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total transaction of $11,444,205.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares in the company, valued at $45,236,615.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Caterpillar

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.