Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Trustmark National Bank Trust Department

Trustmark National Bank Trust Department boosted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 18.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the period. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $2.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $345.34. 1,109,798 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,716,888. The company has a market cap of $168.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $337.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $334.80.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.48%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,863 shares of company stock worth $8,837,714. 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.