Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Sells 800 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 31.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,745 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $396.00 target price (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $372.92.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $5.16 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $362.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,578,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,679,044. The firm has a market cap of $170.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $327.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $347.86. 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 (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.