Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Grows Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 25.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,844 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,384 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 2,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $818,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 2,897 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,051,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 471 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 703 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.92.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2%

CAT traded down $4.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $356.79. 1,609,485 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,570,874. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company's fifty day moving average price is $327.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $348.63. The company has a market cap of $168.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The business's revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.60 earnings per share. As a group, 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. Shareholders 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. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.