Banque Pictet & Cie SA Sells 13,118 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 94.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 803 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 13,118 shares during the quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 21.6% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,176 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,303,000 after purchasing an additional 4,470 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 102.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 429 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $633,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 19,310 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,005,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 7.2% during the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,489 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,470,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,653 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $404.64.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $408.22 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $359.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $347.93. 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 $192.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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