Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 88.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. 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.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,060,730,000 after buying an additional 1,196,861 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $353,231,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 50,072.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $291,938,000 after buying an additional 803,166 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $372.92.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2%

Caterpillar stock traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $348.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,752,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,600,759. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $164.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $319.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $350.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share 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 net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Caterpillar's revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.