Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Sells 1,413 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• Legacy Capital Group California Inc. has cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 35.5%, reducing its holdings to 2,568 shares valued at approximately $847,000.
• Caterpillar recently reported earnings of $4.72 per share, which missed analysts' expectations, while its quarterly revenue reached $16.57 billion, surpassing estimates.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.51 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend of $1.41.

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 35.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,568 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,413 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $847,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings 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 valued at $2,483,937,000 after buying an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 312,878 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721,693 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,181,535 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,154,174,000 after acquiring an additional 82,579 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,060,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,861 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $444.00.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded down $10.65 on Thursday, hitting $417.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,260,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,880,540. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $441.15. The company has a market capitalization of $196.46 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's 50 day moving average is $391.99 and its 200-day moving average is $355.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.99 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 29.43%.

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.