Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors cut its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 12.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,089 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,238 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. UBS Group raised 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 report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Six 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $380.83.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded down $6.32 on Monday, reaching $391.54. The stock had a trading volume of 3,012,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,526,771. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 2.64 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $351.96 and a 200 day moving average of $346.74. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar 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.