Korea Investment CORP Decreases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP has reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. by 0.6%, owning 363,081 shares valued at approximately $119.7 million after selling 2,368 shares in the first quarter.
• Caterpillar plans to increase its quarterly dividend to $1.51, which is higher than the previous dividend of $1.41, reflecting a 1.5% yield.
• Despite reporting earnings per share of $4.72 for the most recent quarter, Caterpillar missed analyst estimates of $4.88, with revenue slightly down by 0.7% year-over-year.

Korea Investment CORP cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 363,081 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,368 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.08% of Caterpillar worth $119,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $407.41 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $441.15. The stock has a market cap of $190.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company's fifty day moving average price is $399.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $355.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS 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 $1.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $444.00.

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.

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