STAR Financial Bank Has $660,000 Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

STAR Financial Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. STAR Financial Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related 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 value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. HSBC increased their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded up $2.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $328.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,904,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,692,612. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $160.60 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $337.28 and its 200-day moving average is $331.44. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.73 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is a boost 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 1.72%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

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.