Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 1,200 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.5% in the first quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $220,000. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 38.9% in the first quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $299,000. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,434 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Citigroup began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $327.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,994,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,670,109. 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 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The company’s fifty day moving average is $340.74 and its 200-day moving average is $328.07. The company has a market capitalization of $160.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

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.