WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 154 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 154 shares during the quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 724,477 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $2,184,364,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.6%

Caterpillar stock opened at $359.73 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $331.20 and a 200-day moving average of $347.71. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $169.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. 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 research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Six equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.92.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.