FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Acquires New Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH bought a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

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

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $327.74 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $339.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $330.08. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The company has a market cap of $160.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12.

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

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC raised their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar 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.