Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,008 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. reduced its Caterpillar holdings by 2.1%, now owning 95,628 shares worth approximately $31.54 million.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. significantly raised its price target for Caterpillar from $395 to $475, with an "overweight" rating, reflecting positive analyst sentiment around the stock.
• Caterpillar announced a quarterly dividend of $1.51, which is an increase from the previous $1.41, indicating a dividend yield of 1.39%.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,628 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,008 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $31,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 1,536 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 72.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 88,936 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,262,000 after buying an additional 37,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 223.1% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $419.33.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.1%

CAT stock traded down $9.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $428.85. 4,027,319 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,706,497. The firm's 50 day moving average is $383.95 and its 200 day moving average is $353.96. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $441.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $202.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current 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 is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.43%.

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.