Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by First Financial Bank Trust Division

First Financial Bank Trust Division reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,021 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,093 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CAT. Robert W. Baird raised Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.92.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock traded down $4.69 on Friday, reaching $347.10. The company had a trading volume of 4,866,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,640,639. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company's fifty day moving average is $319.22 and its 200 day moving average is $351.14. The company has a market cap of $163.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.