Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 82,611 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,159,486 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 82,611 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.66% of Caterpillar worth $1,041,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 18,802 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,821,000 after acquiring an additional 2,029 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 10,351 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,755,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Oppenheimer upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $380.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT traded up $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $399.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,737,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,524,822. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $351.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $346.95.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. This is a boost 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 currently 27.49%.

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.