Diversified Trust Co Raises Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 38.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,542 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,915 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Caterpillar by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,060,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,861 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $353,231,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 50,072.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $291,938,000 after buying an additional 803,166 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson boosted their target price 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. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price target (up previously from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $380.83.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company's 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 purchase, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $3.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $385.18. The company had a trading volume of 4,445,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,544,360. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $340.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $346.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Caterpillar Company 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.