Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Sells 5,348 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 82.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,348 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $407.41 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $441.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $399.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $356.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.99 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CAT. Melius raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $444.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.