J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC Sells 613 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. by 5.0%, bringing its total stake to $3.87 million after selling 613 shares during the first quarter.
• Caterpillar plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.51 in August, marking an increase from its previous dividend of $1.41, representing an annualized dividend of $6.04.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $4.25 per share, falling short of analysts' expectations, with revenue declining 9.8% year-over-year to $14.25 billion.

J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,734 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 613 shares during the quarter. J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,688,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $933,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 923 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PKS Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $419.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded up $4.55 on Friday, reaching $434.07. The stock had a trading volume of 2,207,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,516,496. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $434.87. The stock has a market cap of $204.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $377.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $351.82.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.60 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.43%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.