MV Capital Management Inc. Boosts Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,703 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $7,396,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 89.6% in the fourth quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 927 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $372.92.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock traded down $2.43 during trading on Thursday, hitting $360.71. The stock had a trading volume of 715,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,582,775. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50-day moving average price is $323.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $349.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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.