Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Trims Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• Levin Capital Strategies L.P. sold 2,427 shares of Caterpillar Inc., reducing its stake by 3.0%, while still holding 79,310 shares worth approximately $26.16 million, making it the firm's 7th largest position.
• Caterpillar recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.51 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $6.04 and a yield of 1.4%, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend of $1.41.
• The stock price of Caterpillar opened at $434.21, with analysts providing a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $419.33.

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. trimmed its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,310 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,427 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up about 2.8% of Levin Capital Strategies L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $26,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $444.00.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded down $10.65 during trading on Thursday, hitting $417.07. 4,260,195 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,880,540. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $391.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $355.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $441.15. The company has a market cap of $196.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.43%.

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.