Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Sells 19,545 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 88.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,485 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 19,545 shares during the quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $4.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $353.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,605,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,720. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $320.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $349.91. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization 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.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.60 EPS. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CAT. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group raised shares of 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 research report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $372.92.

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.