Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $4.10 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Essex Financial Services Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,435 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 777 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after buying an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after buying an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after buying an additional 724,477 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $2,184,364,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 price target (up previously from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $380.83.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $385.18 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $342.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $346.17. The company has a market cap of $181.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.

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