First Bank & Trust Acquires Shares of 716 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

First Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. HSBC increased their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $333.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $162.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $340.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $329.04.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.46%.

Caterpillar Company 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.