Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $153.15 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 464,358 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 18,537 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Caterpillar worth $153,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $689,000. Concord Asset Management LLC VA raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 47.7% during the first quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 8,992 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,966,000 after acquiring an additional 2,903 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.1% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,624,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 16.0% during the first quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,052 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 63,502 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $20,943,000 after acquiring an additional 2,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $4.19 on Friday, hitting $413.88. The company had a trading volume of 2,524,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,697,493. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $419.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $367.85 and a 200-day moving average of $349.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.38.

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 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 company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.60 earnings per share. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued 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 issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $412.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.