Phoenix Holdings Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 268 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Holdings Ltd.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brand Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 51.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 145 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Dividend Assets Capital LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Dividend Assets Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, IronBridge Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 68.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
In other news, General Counsel Suzette M. Long sold 59,311 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.67, for a total value of $13,028,847.37. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 33,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,319,404.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 80,695 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.82, for a total value of $17,738,374.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,560,889.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 145,062 shares of company stock valued at $31,884,447. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
NYSE:CAT opened at $237.71 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $117.57 and a twelve month high of $245.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $234.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.56. The company has a market cap of $130.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.93.
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.94. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 26.63% and a net margin of 7.99%. The firm had revenue of $11.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 23rd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.80%.
A number of analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Credit Suisse Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Caterpillar from $168.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Caterpillar from $205.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $216.35.
Caterpillar Profile
Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, cold planers, motorgraders, pipelayers, road reclaimers, telehandlers, and utility vehicles; backhoe, compact track, multi-terrain, skid steer, and track-type loaders; forestry and wheel excavators; and site prep and track-type tractors.
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