Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by American National Bank & Trust

American National Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,174 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $2.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $351.35. The stock had a trading volume of 871,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,373. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $319.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $350.35. The stock has a market cap of $165.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.92, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. 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 issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $372.92.

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.