Heritage Trust Co Buys 763 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• Heritage Trust Co increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, owning a total of 10,599 shares valued at approximately $3.5 million.
• Multiple institutions adjusted their positions in Caterpillar, with Liberty Wealth Management seeing the largest increase at 147.1%, now holding 51,631 shares valued at $17 million.
• Caterpillar recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.51 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for July 21st.

Heritage Trust Co lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,599 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 763 shares during the quarter. Heritage Trust Co's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avalon Trust Co raised its stake in Caterpillar by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 521 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $4,113,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 147.1% during the 1st quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 51,631 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $17,028,000 after purchasing an additional 30,737 shares during the period. Finally, Aviso Wealth Management raised its stake in Caterpillar by 28.4% during the 1st quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 2,616 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $419.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $428.85 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $385.66 and a 200 day moving average of $354.22. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $441.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market cap of $202.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.60 EPS. Caterpillar's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.43%.

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.

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