Segment Wealth Management LLC Buys 1,227 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $2,090,000. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after buying an additional 284,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Six investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $372.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE CAT opened at $359.73 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $332.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $347.41. The company has a market capitalization of $169.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share 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 net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share 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 given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s 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.