Caterpillar Inc. $CAT is Integrated Advisors Network LLC's 7th Largest Position

Key Points

• Integrated Advisors Network LLC trimmed its Caterpillar stake by 6.5% in the first quarter, but CAT still ranks as its 7th-largest holding and makes up about 1.6% of its portfolio.
• Wall Street remains constructive on Caterpillar, with analysts assigning a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $949.41; several firms recently raised their targets.
• Caterpillar reported strong first-quarter results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also boosted its quarterly dividend to $1.63 per share from $1.51.

Integrated Advisors Network LLC cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,672 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,990 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up approximately 1.6% of Integrated Advisors Network LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Integrated Advisors Network LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $30,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,572,681,000 after acquiring an additional 442,164 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $20,273,039,000 after purchasing an additional 385,204 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,072,572,000 after purchasing an additional 94,524 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,438,408,000 after purchasing an additional 54,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,860,457,000 after purchasing an additional 928,974 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,103.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $905.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $949.41.

Caterpillar Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $928.58 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $391.52 and a 1-year high of $1,073.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $427.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $921.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $772.97.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The company had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.25 earnings per share. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.71 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.45%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at $42,210,388.80. This represents a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total transaction of $11,444,205.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 49,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,236,615.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company's product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

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