Aspiriant LLC Sells 41 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Aspiriant LLC trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $327.51 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $340.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $328.07. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $382.01. The company has a market capitalization of $160.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.79, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

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

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is 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.