Railway Pension Investments Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $40,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $335.00.

Caterpillar Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of CAT traded down $10.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $320.87. The company had a trading volume of 4,246,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,804,071. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $334.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $337.24. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.46%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,863 shares of company stock worth $8,837,714 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.