Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• Mutual of America Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. by 3.8% during Q1, owning 61,122 shares valued at approximately $20.16 million after selling 2,412 shares.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their ratings and price targets for Caterpillar, with new target prices ranging up to $520.00, indicating strong investor confidence in the stock.
• Caterpillar announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.51 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders despite a slight revenue decline year-over-year.

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 61,122 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,412 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $20,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 203.3% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 161,841 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $58,710,000 after purchasing an additional 108,473 shares in the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 3,664 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, F M Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 39,159 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,205,000 after purchasing an additional 7,595 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.5%

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

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.4%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 29.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $444.00.

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.