Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. by 82.6%, now owning only 1,126 shares after selling 5,348 shares.
• Caterpillar recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $4.72, which fell short of analysts' expectations by $0.16, with a quarterly revenue of $16.57 billion.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.51 per share, marking a rise from the previous dividend of $1.41, with an annualized yield of 1.5%.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 82.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,126 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,348 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2,723.1% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $466,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,183 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $391,788,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,060,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays upped their target price 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. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $450.87.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $3.4720 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $416.1120. The company had a trading volume of 3,543,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,769,307. The firm has a market cap of $194.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $441.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $401.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $356.48.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.72%.

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.