AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Has $20.80 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 25.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,053 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 21,147 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $20,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 51.5% in 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. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $7,396,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $863,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 45,055 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,344,000 after acquiring an additional 2,430 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE CAT traded down $0.56 during trading on Thursday, hitting $348.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,752,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,600,756. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $164.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company's 50-day moving average price is $319.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $350.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.60 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of 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 raised their price objective for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.