Capital Investment Counsel Inc Acquires 3,256 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc raised its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 31.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,736 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,256 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up approximately 0.7% of Capital Investment Counsel Inc's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Capital Investment Counsel Inc's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 236,315 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $2,184,364,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 8.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 312,878 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CAT. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $380.83.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $399.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,737,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,523,847. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $348.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $346.65. The firm has a market cap of $188.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. 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 net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.60 EPS. The company's revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.