MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,528 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 854 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for about 1.5% of MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $10,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,980,629,000 after buying an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after purchasing an additional 236,315 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,294,505,000 after purchasing an additional 129,143 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $2,184,364,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Six equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $375.50.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of CAT traded up $3.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $353.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,558,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,639,240. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $166.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $317.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $354.09.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

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.