Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by CCM Investment Advisers LLC

CCM Investment Advisers LLC reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,429 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,347 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises 2.2% of CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $18,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $805,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. Victrix Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $2,090,000. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 34,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,637,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after buying an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MFG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $2,308,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $360.85 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $325.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $348.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $372.92.

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.