Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 27.8%, holding 8,629 shares worth approximately $2.85 million after selling 3,329 shares in the first quarter.
• Caterpillar reported $4.72 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analyst estimates, while its revenue was down 0.7% year-over-year at $16.57 billion.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.51, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend of $1.41, with a yield of 1.4%.

Prudential PLC lessened its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 27.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,629 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,329 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,429,416,000 after purchasing an additional 312,878 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after purchasing an additional 15,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,064,951,000 after purchasing an additional 268,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $444.00.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded down $10.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $407.41. 3,105,803 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,164,488. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $190.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $441.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $399.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $355.92.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.72%.

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.