Jennison Associates LLC Buys 55,935 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 26.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 267,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 55,935 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $98,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 3,460.0% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 16,387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,474,000 after buying an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 95.5% in the 3rd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,608,000 after buying an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blueprint Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $331,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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 research report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of CAT stock traded down $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $328.88. The stock had a trading volume of 767,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,682,304. The business has a 50 day moving average of $337.50 and a 200 day moving average of $331.21. The stock has a market cap of $160.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase 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 shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.