Wellington Management Group LLP Increases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 29%, owning 114,742 shares worth approximately $37.84 million after purchasing 25,806 additional shares in the first quarter.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.51, up from $1.41 the previous quarter, indicating a healthy annualized dividend of $6.04 and a dividend yield of 1.4%.
• Analysts have revised their ratings for Caterpillar, with Melius Research upgrading it to "strong-buy" and a price target of $500, contributing to an average target price of around $450.87.

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 29.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 114,742 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 25,806 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $37,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,010 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 10,771 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,907,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Summit X LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. Melius raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $450.87.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $1.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $433.17. 1,970,924 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,433,062. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $441.15. The company's 50-day moving average is $410.05 and its 200-day moving average is $359.24.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.99 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.72%.

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.