Penobscot Wealth Management Takes Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Penobscot Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 677 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 25.9% during the 1st quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 866 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co raised its position in Caterpillar by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 6,521 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,151,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.5% during the first quarter. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,488,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 187.2% in the first quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 3,397 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 2,214 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT traded up $7.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $398.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,712,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,520,699. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $187.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The business's fifty day moving average price is $346.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $346.30. 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 (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CAT. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $380.83.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

About Caterpillar

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.