Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 3,680 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,022,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,680 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.21% of Caterpillar worth $370,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $285,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,371 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 47.2% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $854,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,317 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,208,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 26.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,012 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE CAT traded down $2.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $305.26. 1,763,447 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,618,806. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $319.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $359.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $361.75.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.