Sivia Capital Partners LLC Buys 58 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 58 shares during the quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $207,000. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 13.1% in the first quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 323.9% in the first quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 3,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 16.9% in the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 5,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,937,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the period. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 81.2% in the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 943 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of CAT traded up $3.14 on Wednesday, reaching $330.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 617,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,700,813. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $339.03 and a 200-day moving average of $330.08.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

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.