AIA Group Ltd Sells 204 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

AIA Group Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 204 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $10,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Southland Equity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.1% during the first quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 10,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,919,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.3% during the first quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT traded up $4.31 on Friday, hitting $335.44. 2,451,277 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,693,222. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $337.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $331.75. 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 posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 21.73 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.48%.

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.