Cerity Partners LLC Has $97.25 Million Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 28.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 294,869 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 64,654 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.06% of Caterpillar worth $97,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $404.64.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE CAT traded down $2.60 on Friday, hitting $405.73. 2,072,409 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,530,096. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50 day moving average price is $359.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $347.93.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.60 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.