TIAA Trust National Association Boosts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

TIAA Trust National Association raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 729 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Spirepoint Private Client LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $221,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 195.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 162,123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,407,000 after purchasing an additional 107,170 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,850 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 400,496 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $146,471,000 after purchasing an additional 56,079 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of CAT traded down $8.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $347.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,462,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,132,396. The company has a fifty day moving average of $337.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $334.02. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The company has a market cap of $170.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. HSBC boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the acquisition, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,863 shares of company stock valued at $8,837,714. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.