Fiduciary Financial Group LLC Sells 773 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Fiduciary Financial Group LLC reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 42.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,056 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 773 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $372.92.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT traded down $4.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $356.79. 1,609,485 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,564,350. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $327.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $348.63. The firm has a market cap of $168.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought 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 now owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.