Perigon Wealth Management LLC Sells 4,821 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 23.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,719 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,821 shares during the quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 471 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 1,238 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. BBR Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 4,162 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,510,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 184 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.7%

NYSE:CAT opened at $381.70 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $340.31 and its 200 day moving average is $346.48. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $380.83.

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.

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