Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stake Lowered by Community Bank N.A.

Community Bank N.A. reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during 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 valued at $1,328,000 after acquiring 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 valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 367,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,370,000 after acquiring an additional 52,576 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 valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CAT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock traded up $0.23 on Wednesday, reaching $363.48. 3,030,552 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,436,106. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $349.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $300.03. The stock has a market cap of $181.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $204.04 and a twelve month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.32 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.82%.

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.