Stephens Inc. AR Sells 20,869 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 22.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,471 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 20,869 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $23,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,060,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,861 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1,278.6% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 440,641 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $154,367,000 after purchasing an additional 408,678 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded up $8.25 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $412.89. 3,240,946 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,519,851. The company has a market capitalization of $194.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 2.68 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 moving average is $364.12 and its 200 day moving average is $348.60. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.60 earnings per share. Equities research 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 issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. 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 is 27.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $406.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the firm'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 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.