Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Corundum Group Inc.

Corundum Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 41.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,282 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,310 shares during the quarter. Corundum Group Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% during 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 in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Caterpillar by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,343 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225 shares in the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prasad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $200,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Oppenheimer raised shares of 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. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price target (up previously from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $380.83.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.7%

CAT traded up $10.12 during trading on Thursday, hitting $381.70. 2,571,921 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,536,634. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $338.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $346.61. The firm has a market cap of $179.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 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 analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.