Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 658,967 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 64,809 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Caterpillar worth $217,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. BBR Partners LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 4,162 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,510,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 184 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 10,771 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,907,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 205 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson lifted 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. Bank of America lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $380.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $399.33. 1,737,838 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,524,822. The stock has a market cap of $188.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.38. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $351.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $346.84. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase 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 yield of 1.51%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

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.