Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 24.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 700,736 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 231,731 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned 0.15% of Caterpillar worth $231,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in 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 valued at $1,060,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,861 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Caterpillar by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in Caterpillar by 1,278.6% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 440,641 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $154,367,000 after purchasing an additional 408,678 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $4.55 on Friday, hitting $434.07. 2,207,764 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,516,496. The firm's 50-day moving average is $377.02 and its 200 day moving average is $351.82. The company has a market capitalization of $204.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $434.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $419.33.

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.