Fulton Bank N.A. Acquires 71 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $336,000. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 245.4% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 24,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,158,000 after acquiring an additional 17,756 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.2% during the second quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 6,124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,040,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $1,301,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of CAT traded down $1.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $324.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,462,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,749,595. The stock has a market cap of $158.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $382.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $333.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $338.54.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.55 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,863 shares of company stock valued at $8,837,714. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $337.38.

About Caterpillar

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.