MCF Advisors LLC Sells 490 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

MCF Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 28.4% 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 1,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 490 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,310,000 after buying an additional 3,558 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:CAT traded up $5.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $333.10. The stock had a trading volume of 8,891,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,519,845. The stock has a market cap of $162.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $340.31 and its 200 day moving average is $328.57. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 earnings per share for the current year.

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 given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial started coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.