ORG Partners LLC Acquires 3,886 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 612.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,886 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $337.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $337.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,610,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,730,814. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The stock has a market cap of $165.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $333.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $340.00. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.46%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.