First Financial Bank Trust Division Trims Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

First Financial Bank Trust Division decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,093 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $2,090,000. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 34,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,637,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the period. Finally, MFG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $2,308,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $349.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $318.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $351.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $396.00 price objective (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.33.

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.