Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Holdings Cut by S&CO Inc.

S&CO Inc. cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 114,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 627 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up approximately 2.5% of S&CO Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $37,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 2,723.1% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $466,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,183 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Caterpillar by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,060,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,861 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Caterpillar by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in Caterpillar by 1,278.6% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 440,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,367,000 after acquiring an additional 408,678 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $433.16 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $378.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $352.33. The company has a market capitalization of $204.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $436.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its 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 company 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. On average, 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 29.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Melius raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $419.33.

Caterpillar 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.