Congress Asset Management Co. Cuts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Congress Asset Management Co. reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,371 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,242 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $17,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $4.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $353.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,605,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,720. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $320.74 and a 200-day moving average of $349.69. The stock has a market cap of $166.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction 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 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird upgraded Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $372.92.

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.