First Merchants Corp Grows Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

First Merchants Corp lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 700 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CAT opened at $353.97 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $374.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $371.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.13.

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.