MV Capital Management Inc. Purchases 713 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

MV Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 713 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $16,980,629,000 after acquiring an additional 284,366 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after acquiring an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $2,184,364,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $358.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $322.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $349.19. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group raised shares of 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. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $372.92.

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.