Private Trust Co. NA Trims Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Private Trust Co. NA reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 691 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 29,110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Penobscot Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 25.9% during the first quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 6,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,151,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.83.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $398.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $348.25 and a 200-day moving average of $346.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

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.