Ledyard National Bank Buys 10,913 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ledyard National Bank lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 754.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,913 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,769 shares of company stock worth $11,508,906. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $316.88.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $6.38 during trading on Monday, reaching $349.76. 2,213,421 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,492,852. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $350.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $301.19. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.60 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

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.