Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by First Hawaiian Bank

First Hawaiian Bank lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 32.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 507 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 7.4% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $774,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $327.84 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $160.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $343.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $326.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $327.13.

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.