Lbp Am Sa Cuts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

LBP AM SA reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 50.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,544 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,644 shares during the quarter. LBP AM SA's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth 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 stake in shares of 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 worth $3,790,841,000 after acquiring an additional 236,315 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $2,184,364,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,429,416,000 after purchasing an additional 312,878 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price target (up from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Six equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $404.64.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $2.60 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $405.73. The company had a trading volume of 2,072,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,530,096. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $191.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company's 50-day moving average is $359.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $347.93.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar 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.