Private Advisor Group LLC Has $21.55 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Private Advisor Group LLC decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,353 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,443 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $21,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $412.33.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of CAT stock traded down $4.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $413.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,525,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,508,304. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $419.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $369.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $349.69. The company has a market cap of $194.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.46%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 29.43%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.