Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 1,600 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 18.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 2,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,051,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carrera Capital Advisors raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 1,238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $396.00 target price (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $372.92.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of CAT stock opened at $356.79 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $347.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.43%.

Caterpillar Company 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.