Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 133 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after acquiring an additional 236,315 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,429,416,000 after acquiring an additional 312,878 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,181,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,154,174,000 after acquiring an additional 82,579 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Barclays upped their price target on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $419.33.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $434.07 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $204.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $377.02 and its 200 day moving average is $351.76. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $434.87.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted 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 company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.43%.

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.