Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 28.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,737 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,106 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 2,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $818,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 2,897 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,051,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 471 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 703 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $4.17 on Friday, reaching $356.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,609,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,570,874. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $327.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $348.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $1.51 dividend. This is a boost 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 1.69%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Oppenheimer upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $372.92.

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.