Great Lakes Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 2.5%, selling 7,450 shares and now owning approximately 293,456 shares valued at $96.78 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded Caterpillar's stock ratings, with UBS Group raising its price target to $357 and Melius Research setting a target of $500.
• Caterpillar announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.51 per share, reflecting a boost from $1.41, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.4%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 293,456 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,450 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Caterpillar worth $96,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,037,000 after acquiring an additional 7,125 shares during the period. Victrix Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,090,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after acquiring an additional 15,347 shares during the period. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $63,202,000 after purchasing an additional 30,070 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $431.10. 2,341,271 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,399,245. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $441.15. The company has a market capitalization of $201.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $420.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $365.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

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

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 482,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CAT. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $457.20.

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.