Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 46.5%, owning 2,792 shares valued at approximately $921,000 as per their latest SEC filing.
• Caterpillar reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS), missing analysts' expectations by $0.10, with a decline in revenue of 9.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, up from the prior $1.41, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 29.43%.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 46.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,792 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $921,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 1,536 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 72.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 88,936 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,262,000 after purchasing an additional 37,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 463,786 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $168,243,000 after buying an additional 20,471 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $438.19 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $383.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $353.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $441.15. The company has a market capitalization of $206.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.60 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a positive change 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 1.4%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. 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. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price objective (up previously from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $419.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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