Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Silver Oak Securities Incorporated

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 856 shares during the quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT traded up $2.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $361.86. 1,297,313 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,543,947. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $332.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $347.41. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.67%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 29.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $375.17.

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.