Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 508,808 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,210 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned about 0.11% of Caterpillar worth $167,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Oppenheimer raised 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. Robert W. Baird raised Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 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, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded down $4.17 on Friday, hitting $356.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,609,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,564,350. The firm has a market cap of $168.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $327.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $348.25.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.