Everpar Advisors LLC Sells 290 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Everpar Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 17.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 290 shares during the quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 2,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 2,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. 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. DA Davidson raised their price target on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.92.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $356.79 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $327.10 and a 200 day moving average of $348.63. The company has a market capitalization of $168.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.