Vestor Capital LLC Decreases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Vestor Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 98.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 133 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,621 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $44,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,790,841,000 after purchasing an additional 236,315 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,184,364,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 8.6% in 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 worth $1,429,416,000 after purchasing an additional 312,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CAT. Evercore ISI lowered 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $419.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:CAT traded up $4.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $434.07. The stock had a trading volume of 2,207,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,516,496. The company has a market capitalization of $204.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $434.87. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $377.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $351.82.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business's revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 29.43%.

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.