Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Sells 393 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 393 shares during the quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. HSBC increased their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Raymond James assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:CAT traded up $5.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $333.10. 8,891,204 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,719,476. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $340.31 and its 200-day moving average is $328.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following 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. 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.