Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Advisor OS LLC

Advisor OS LLC lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,334 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 628 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 236,315 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $2,184,364,000. 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 purchasing an additional 312,878 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,230,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721,693 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of CAT traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $434.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,004,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,674,533. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $436.40. The firm has a market cap of $204.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. The business's fifty day moving average is $377.02 and its 200 day moving average is $351.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released 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). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $419.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

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

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.