Whittier Trust Co. Sells 1,024 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Whittier Trust Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,024 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $16,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Victrix Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,090,000. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $579,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 18.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $63,202,000 after buying an additional 30,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.8% during the first quarter. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $406.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.0%

CAT stock traded up $8.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $412.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,240,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,519,851. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $194.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $365.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $349.05.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.