OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Cuts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lessened its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 272.4% in the 1st quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 730.8% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $357.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $178.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $345.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.04 and a 52 week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.4 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.82%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and raised their price target for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.56.

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.