First Interstate Bank Decreases Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

First Interstate Bank cut its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 168 shares during the quarter. First Interstate Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $2,580,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,634,000 after purchasing an additional 9,695 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $405,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.8% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,075,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.1 %

CAT stock traded down $4.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $359.88. 2,514,069 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,095,585. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.04 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company has a market cap of $179.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $344.54 and its 200-day moving average is $296.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

Caterpillar 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.