Hilltop Holdings Inc. Cuts Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Hilltop Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 26.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,909 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 68,427.2% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,140,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,224,992,000 after buying an additional 3,136,020 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $1,225,317,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 573.1% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,504,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $861,947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,087 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,860,457,000 after acquiring an additional 928,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 8,359.6% during the fourth quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 513,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $294,314,000 after acquiring an additional 507,681 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.6%

Caterpillar stock opened at $889.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $405.46 and a one year high of $1,073.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $409.57 billion, a PE ratio of 44.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $928.88 and its 200 day moving average is $804.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $17.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at $42,210,388.80. This represents a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total transaction of $14,399,860.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at $48,631,913.85. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $980.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $1,050.00 to $1,155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $980.57.

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.