Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Holdings Lessened by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 86,180 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,330 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $28,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 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 purchase, the director now owns 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of CAT traded down $4.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $356.79. 1,609,485 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,570,866. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $325.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $348.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $168.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 27.49%.

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.