Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 11.6%, holding $1.83 million in the company's shares.
• Caterpillar recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.51, which is an increase from the previous dividend of $1.41, marking a 1.4% yield.
• Bank of America and Citigroup both raised their price targets on Caterpillar shares to between $495.00 and $500.00, maintaining a "buy" rating.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. cut its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 11.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,539 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 730 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, August 29th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $457.20.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded up $8.71 on Thursday, reaching $431.62. 2,737,694 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,446,142. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $441.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $419.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $364.55. The company has a market cap of $202.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.41.

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

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.