First National Trust Co Sells 3,541 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

First National Trust Co reduced its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,901 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,541 shares during the period. First National Trust Co's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $15,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded down $9.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $428.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,027,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,706,497. The stock has a market cap of $202.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $383.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $353.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $441.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.60 EPS. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 29.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price objective (up from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $419.33.

Caterpillar Company 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.