Citizens National Bank Trust Department Sells 125 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Citizens National Bank Trust Department trimmed its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,118 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises about 1.6% of Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. GSB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the second quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2.4% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the second quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $466.53.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $486.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $505.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $439.39 and its 200 day moving average is $380.92.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.