Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by First American Trust FSB

Key Points

• First American Trust FSB reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 20.6%, selling 6,432 shares, leaving them with a total of 24,758 shares valued at approximately $8.17 million.
• Several hedge funds significantly increased their positions in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by an astonishing 43,447.3%.
• Caterpillar's latest earnings report showed $4.72 EPS, missing expectations, while they also announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.51 per share, representing a 1.5% yield.

First American Trust FSB lessened its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 20.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,758 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,432 shares during the period. First American Trust FSB's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2,723.1% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $466,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,183 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $391,788,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Caterpillar by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,060,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $416.43 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $393.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $355.47. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $441.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $195.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%. The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.99 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $444.00.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CAT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.